You Can't Go Home Again - Sanvers
by DKGWrites
Summary: When an alien invasion leads the DEO to a small town in Nebraska, they learn that any non-local will be killed. That leaves Maggie to return to her hometown with her fiancée before the Army launches a missile strike to destroy it. Can they stop the invasion in time, and how will Maggie deal with her alien controlled family that treats her like the one she always wishes she had?
1. 1 - Draw

The lights of the mobile amusement park lit up the stretch of parking lot, filling the night sky with bright colors, flashes only slightly less harsh than the accompanying sounds. Each ride, each booth, had its own resonance. The voices of couples and children rode along air still warm into the evening. Welcome to California in late May. You could smell the sugar as a breeze wafted by, cotton candy and slurpees being two of the major food groups served here. Pimply faced youths in red and white striped shirts hocked their wares and tried to lure testosterone laden men into parting with their dollars for the sake of winning a prize for the lady on their arm. It didn't take much urging. It's a good night to be young. It's a good night to be alive. It's a good night to be out with someone that you love and with a few disposable dollars. These are memories in the making, where for just thirty-seven dollars you can win a two dollar stuffie, but the look on her face when you hand it over to her…priceless.

"You feeling lucky, Danvers?" The hand of Detective Maggie Sawyer of the NCPD, Science Division, hovered over the pistol.

"Don't need luck when you have skill, Sawyer. You'll have to take my word for that," Special Agent Alex Danvers of the DEO replied, almost keeping the grin off her face as her fingers wiggled over her pistol in turn.

"I hear you talking. I see you talking. I can practically smell you talking," Maggie said, sniffing at the air in the way of demonstration. "Huh. You must be all talk."

Alex snickered, mumbling, "Damn it." As she broke character a bit at the other woman's humor. Clearing her throat, the agent smoothed her expression back to neutrality. "Let's settle this once and for all. Let's do this."

"Fine by me," Maggie replied casually. "On three?"

Alex nodded.

Together they counted off, "One, two, three!"

Hands drew air pistols as they fired quickly, knocking down targets of tin cans and ducks while avoiding the faux sticks of T-N-T that will stop any other targets from counting.

"Time!" They shouted together, slapping their pistols down on the counter for the carnival attraction as they each took a step back.

"Who…? Which…?" Alex looked at Maggie, then back at their matching target scores. She stepped forward, her fist banging down forcefully on the countertop. "God damn it! A freakin' tie? Again!?" Whirling on the teen who stared at them, with more than mild annoyance, from the other side of the counter, she pointed and demanded, "Who won!?"

"You both did, and I lost…again!" He replied, his arms lifting and falling with exasperation. "Look, ladies, you're cleaning me out. You took almost half my stock already, and there are no more little kids hanging around for you to give it to. Maybe you could just go and ruin someone else's night for a little while…pretty please?"

Hands on hips, Alex rocked back and forth from toe to heel, eying the kid. Her brown leather jacket hung loosely open over a green t-shirt, tight jeans in place of slacks which noted the casual evening. The look she gave the kid was neutral because he's probably right. Still, even with the 'pretty please' thrown in at the end, it felt a little bit like someone was telling her what to do. People don't tell Agent Alex Danvers what to do. Eight foot tall, steroid laden, bullet proof aliens don't tell Alex what to do, so even a suggestion from some kid got her hackles up. She leaned her head to the left, flipping her short auburn hair slightly to the side, and prepared to do whatever it was this kid didn't want.

"Babe." Maggie's smile grew slowly, a matching set of dimples you could lose a finger in up to the knuckle appearing. Her dark eyes lit up to match that smile. She looked up several inches at Alex, teeth especially bright against her tan skin. Her dark hair slid along her leather jacket as her head cocked to the side in a way that had melted the hearts of many women before. Just like them, she could see Alex falter under the gaze. "I want cotton candy. Do you want cotton candy?"

"I…" Unable to help herself, Alex felt herself smiling in return. "I'm thirsty. I could go for a drink."

"Beer and cotton candy it is," Maggie said with a smile that had somehow grown impossibly brighter.

"Thank God," the kid mumbled.

"Hey!" Alex snapped, whirling at the counter, her arm out and across it as she pointed at the kid. "We leave under one condition."

Eyes widening, the kid swallowed and began to nod before Alex even spoke. The look in her eye was one she'd used on many DEO agents in the past. The skinny-ass kid never stood a chance.

Minutes later with beers, cotton candy, and their stuffed animals in hand, Alex and Maggie wandered through the make-shift park. They bumped shoulders while they walked, hands too full to grasp together. All-in-all it was a good night by Sanvers standards. They shot things, won things, and now they're drinking. It's the trifecta.

"The Ferris Wheel," Maggie said with an elbow nudge to her girlfriend's arm. "You game? They are très romantic."

"Très," Alex repeated with a snort and a shake of her head. "You sure you're not afraid of heights?"

"Is that a short joke?" Maggie asked with mock offense.

"Nah," Alex replied as she kissed the shorter woman soundly on the cheek. "You're perfect. You know that, right?"

"Pretty damn close," Maggie agreed, taking a sip from her beer. "What about you? Scared of heights?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Please. I repel off things higher than that before breakfast. Let's go on your romantic Ferris Ride." They headed over in that direction, Alex drinking some of her beer before she said, "You know, I haven't been to a carnival since I was a teenager."

"You've been busy," Maggie commented while Alex nodded, then the detective added, "Maybe you haven't had someone worth going with."

"True," Alex beamed. "Last time I went it was with Kara and my folks."

"Oh, good memories?"

Eyebrows high, Alex responded, "A thirteen-year-old Kara at an amusement park? Oh, God no, it was horrible. We weren't used to her, and she wasn't used to herself yet. She got separated from us for maybe five minutes, but that was enough to send my folks and Kara into a panic."

"Not you?"

"Freakin' Kara." Alex exhaled loudly. "I love her, but man she was freakin' annoying when she first got here. I spent so much time babysitting her and making excuses for her. I mean…it's not her fault. We didn't understand just how overwhelming a place like this would be for her. She still isn't a carnival person, too many sights and sounds."

There were a few seconds of lull in the conversation and then Maggie said, "You're a great big sister, you know? Kara's lucky she has you."

Alex casually shrugged off the compliment. "We're lucky we have each other. Family, you know?"

"Hrmmm," Maggie said noncommittally. As they reached the Ferris Wheel, her eyes sparkled. "Hey, here's our ride."

They got in line, waiting while the Ferris Wheel finished its current set of rotations and people unloaded. They chatted casually, avoiding certain subjects like the DEO, aliens, Alex's sister's oddities so more aliens. The conversation was casual and light, the right mood for their evening and it kept them both smiling.

At one point Maggie was talking about her work, mentioning how she busted a guy's nose when he got rough with her and wasn't coming along peacefully. It drew uncomfortable looks from the couple in front of them in line so she put on her million dollar smile and changed the subject. "So, what are we going to name our monkeys?" She asked, squeezing the two stuffed monkeys she held in her arms. They had their arms wrapped around each other and their lips pursed for a kiss.

Brows furrowed, Alex replied, "We have to name them? Why? They're not pets. They don't come when you call them."

"Alex, we won them at the shooting booth. It's a romantic thing, you know, a couple thing. Plus people name stuffed animals. They're cute, like us. Let's give them cute names."

"Uh…eh…the line's moving," Alex pointed out as people up ahead of them shifted forward.

Maggie just grinned, shuffling forward to join the others. She held out two tickets to the man running the ride when they arrived at the front.

"No drinks on the Ferris Wheel," he said, gesturing to the beverages in their hands.

"You think we're going to puke?" Maggie asked with a cheeky grin.

"Kids toss things off," the guy replied with a shrug, then pointed over at a metal sign that outlined some rules. One of them did indicate no drinks on the ride.

"No problem," Maggie said, taking a step toward the trash can which was located near the sign.

"Hey!" Alex slapped the cotton candy into Maggie's chest, forcing Maggie to fumble to press her forearm against her body to grasp it as both her hands were occupied. Then Alex grabbed the beer from her girlfriend's hand. She downed her beer, then dropped Maggie's cup into her empty one, repeating the process. Once both cups were empty, she gave a smile to the guy that held no humor, dropping the double plastic cup into the trash.

"Really?" Maggie asked. "We could have bought more beers, babe."

"Throwing away perfectly good beer is alcohol abuse," Alex said taking the cotton candy back. She narrowed her eyes at the guy running the ride, a gesture meant to convey that her actions had as much to do with him as the beer. Then she turned, moving into their seat on the ride.

Behind Alex, Maggie leaned slightly into the guy, her hand touching his as she whispered something before taking a seat next to Alex. A few more people filed into seats behind them, and then the ride really started. They made several circuits of the ride, spinning slowly, while Maggie looked at her shirt more than the view.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked.

"You got cotton candy on my shirt," Maggie replied, picking at her shirt with a finger nail. "I'm just trying to get it off before it stains."

"It's just sugar: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, that's been caramelized and re-solidified. It's rapidly cooled before it can crystallize. It's mostly air, but it's literally sugar. Water will break it down. Don't worry about it. Your shirt will be fine," Alex assured her girlfriend.

Maggie smiled up at Alex, "I love it when you get all nerdy. Say something else."

"I'm not a nerd. Everyone knows those things."

"Do you know how many atoms are in a sugar molecule…nerd?" Maggie asked, still grinning.

"I'm waiting till we get to the top to push you out," Alex said, her best scalding Agent Danvers look in place.

Still smiling, Maggie replied, "I'm pretty sure there was something against that on the sign down there."

"Call a cop."

"There's an idea. You want to go back to my place afterward and play the doctor and the cop later tonight?"

Alex's eyebrows rose slightly while a smile began to grow on her face. "Which one do I get to be?"

"I've got handcuffs and you've got a Phd. Figure it out, Doc."

"Jeez," Alex replied with an eye roll. "I've got handcuffs. Who doesn't have handcuffs, Mags?"

"You are so kinky," Maggie said, kissing Alex soundly.

After a few moments of enjoying a deep kiss, Alex smiled and said, "And you are in the Science Division, Detective Sawyer. You know exactly what makes up cotton candy."

"Yeah," Maggie agreed. "But it's so cute to listen to you get all nerdy about something. Smart is sexy you know."

"Oh, I agree," Alex replied, sliding her arm over Maggie's shoulder. "You are very sexy."

They kissed again before Maggie's head settled onto Alex's shoulder. The Ferris Wheel made several rotations, the motion circulating the air across the couple pleasantly. Music from the ride filled their ears, loud voices joining in every time they dipped low toward the crowd again. Finally, they rose high and stopped, the ride frozen with them at its peak, the only motion the swing of their cart as it settled into place.

Leaning forward, Alex looked down and said, "We stopped."

"Babe, chill."

"No one's getting on or off, and we stopped."

"Alex, there's no conspiracy, no alien invasion. Just sit back and enjoy the view," Maggie suggested, tugging Alex fully back into the cart. "Look, you can see the lights of the city and the mountains are out that way. And here, right here, is your girlfriend."

"Yeah, but why did—" Lips on hers cut off anything else that Alex might have said. After several seconds, and with her anxiety much relieved, Alex relaxed with her forehead against Maggie's. "Did you get the guy to stop the ride with us at the top?"

"Maybe."

"You're such a romantic," Alex said, a gentle smile tugging at her lips.

"Mmmmm." The sound hummed from Maggie's lips, along her broad smile. "You know, I haven't had someone worth going anywhere with in a long time either. I haven't had anyone that made me someone worth being with in an even longer time."

Threading the fingers of her free hand between Maggie's, Alex said, "Maybe you should consider keeping me around."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that." Maggie gently knocked her nose against Alex's, rubbing up and down the length. "I've been thinking that sounds like a pretty good idea."

"Yeah? I mean, yeah, yeah, me too. I really, really like the way things are going with us, Mags. I've been thinking that…" When her cell phone rang, Alex sighed loudly.

Gripping the hand that tried to pull away from hers, Maggie said, "Don't answer it."

"I have to. It's work."

"I know. That's why I'm telling you not to answer it, Alex. Come on. It's our night off. How often do we both get a real night off?"

"We don't," Alex admitted as she pulled her hand free and grabbed her phone from her pocket. "Someone is either getting killed, or an alien is invading or something. We don't get a night off." Hitting the screen on her phone, she said, "Agent Danvers….Yes Sir…I understand Sir…Well, I'm outside of the city limits right now and…He what?"

"Who what?" Maggie asked.

"Winn has my location," Alex said, her hand over her phone before she spoke into it again, "Yes Sir, I'm here. Okay, well will transport be sent then? Just sent me coordinates and I'll meet—"

"Hey, guys."

"Fuck!" Alex yelled.

While Maggie shouted, "Jesus Christ!"

Both women spun in their seats, staring at the person who hovered behind them.

"Sorry," Kara said with a sincere smile. "J'onn didn't tell you I was coming to get Alex?"

"Oh, my God," Alex said, hand to her chest. "Yes, she's here. I…I've got transport. ETA, six minutes." Alex disconnected and put her phone away. "What the hell Kara!"

"J'onn was supposed to tell you. Hey, you have two girl monkeys. I didn't know they made them that way."

"They don't normally," Maggie said. "Your sister kind of threatened the kid running the game into splitting up two of the normal pairs so we could have two girls."

"And now a nice gay male couple will have two monkeys too," Alex said. As Kara flew around to the front of the cart, Alex reached out toward her sister.

"Wait, you're leaving with her right now?" Maggie asked.

"Sorry," Alex said with a shrug. "We have a situation. Everyone is being pulled in. The DEO is going to be fully manned immediately." Alex put her arms around her sister's neck and allowed herself to be effortlessly lifted into the air.

"Whoa! Watch the tipping," Maggie said. "Do you need my help? This sounds serious. I haven't seen you folks this worked up since the Daxam invasion. We're not being invaded are we?"

"No," Alex said. "Actually, Kara?"

"Cotton candy," Kara said, taking the food from her sister and eating happily.

"That looks like a no," Alex said. "A full-fledged alien invasion doesn't stop her from eating, but it does slow her down."

"A little bit," Kara agreed as she took another bite. "You know, I think the blue tastes better, but the pink is good too."

"Hey, call me?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, God yes," Alex replied leaning forward toward the cart again. "As soon as I know what's going on and when I'll be done, I'll be in touch. Get some sleep. You're going to need it."

"Promise?" Maggie asked, dimples showing again.

"Promise," Alex replied.

They kissed again, Maggie leaning slightly forward across the front bar of the seat. Alex's arms were around her girlfriend's neck, the agent held aloft mid-air by her sister's arm around her waist.

Kara ate her cotton candy, but it didn't last long. After a few more moments, she cleared her throat and said, "Come on guys. Enough already. Break it up."

Winn's voice in her ear asked, "What's going on, Kara? Is something wrong? You haven't moved."

"Alex and Maggie are…" The hero sighed. "Issingkay."

"Issingkay?" Winn laughed. "Oh, they're kissing? Oh, that's sweet. They're cute. You should be supportive," Winn's voice urged.

"I am supportive," Kara replied. "I'm literally holding Alex up right now. That's the very definition of supportive. Come on, Alex. I'm your sister, not your bed. Say goodbye. We're going."

As Kara started to drift backward, Alex said, "Bye Mags. Love you, babe."

"Love you too, Alex. Be safe!"

"I will," Alex said, turning until she was looking over Kara's shoulder. "I'll call you…" Alex's voice disappeared as she streaked off into the night.

Sighing, Maggie slumped back into her seat, looking at the monkeys in her arms. "You know guys; this is not the date I had planned. Huh, you neither? Well, at least you have each other. Damn superhero took my girlfriend and my cotton candy."


	2. 2 -What the Fuck Town?

When Alex and Kara drifted in through the skylight at the DEO, agents moved like ants in a mound. Action was furious, and people sat at their stations while more were still coming in. The screens were lit up, all the techs talking over their systems at once. Taking up a large portion of what would normally be the open area was the trailer of a tractor-trailer. It had plates from Nebraska, so definitely not local.

"Uh…that's new," Alex said as they landed, pointing to the trailer.

"Yeah, I brought that in," Kara said with a smile.

"Makes sense," Alex replied with a nod. "Why?"

"Well—"

"Agent Danvers!" J'onn barked out as he strode up to the duo. "I need you and Supergirl in the Ready Room in five minutes. Get dressed."

"Yes, Sir!" Alex responded immediately, heading off to the locker area to change into her black uniform. She knew she'd get her explanation soon enough.

In less than five minutes, J'onn was striding urgently in front of the group, hands grasped behind his back. Along the table sat Alex, Supergirl, Winn, Agent Vasquez, Agent Donovan, Agent Tsang, Agent Hartmann, and Agent Reyonolds. It was a full house, much larger than what they usually had for a briefing.

Clearing his throat, J'onn began to speak, "At 17:34 today, we intercepted a vehicle going westbound on Interstate-70, just outside of Rulison, Colorado. We were brought in at the behest of local law enforcement and the FBI. Their people had been in a run in with the occupants of the vehicle after receiving a tip that it was transporting dangerous plant life across state lines. We were able to retrieve a recording of a radio call for backup placed by one of the police officers from the initial stop earlier in the day. It seems—"

"Sir?" Agent Reynolds held up his hand. "What was on the radio call for backup?"

"Screams," J'onn answered simply. "Lots of screams. When back-up arrived, they found the…remains of the officers and the FBI agents. Hartmann, get the lights." When Agent Hartmann, who was closest to the door, flicked off the lights J'onn added, "Mr. Winn is going to show you the pictures from the scene. They're not pleasant."

"And the Burj Khalifa is tall, and the Megalithic Temples are old," Winn mumbled while he opened his laptop and accessed some photos that popped up on the screen behind where J'onn had earlier paced.

Everyone else squinted, leaned their head to one side then the other, trying to understand what they were seeing. There were cars, police cruisers and black sedans, and on and around them were scattered pieces of something. It wasn't until the photos got closer that the focus allowed them to see these pieces of something were human limbs, parts of a torso, half of a skull. Blood was sprayed everywhere like an overly graphic and grotesque B horror movie. There were pictures of trees, body parts dangling a good fifteen feet in the air. A skull sat embedded in a windshield. The word slaughter seemed appropriate. Even for hardened DEO agents, this was shocking.

"How many?" Alex asked.

"There were four FBI agents and six police officers. Based on the number of skulls that were recovered, everyone is accounted for," J'onn replied.

Alex glanced over at her sister, but Kara looked resolved, not shocked. She knew the blonde well enough to realize this wasn't the first time that Kara was seeing these photos. Possibly Kara had seen this all in person. Alex sighed, hating that her innocent little sister was subjected to anything like this. Kara might be Supergirl, but she was still super innocent.

"Do we know what did this?" Alex asked looking back at J'onn while under the table she slid her hand into Kara's. She wasn't surprised when she felt Kara squeeze it back.

"We have the three people involved."

"Three?" Agent Tsang asked. "Three people killed all of them like that?"

"Actually two," J'onn clarified. "The third is…hmmm. The third is our anonymous tipster. From here it might be best if you come with me to holding. Lights."

Agent Hartmann hurried to turn the lights on again, and the group left the room. J'onn led them down to the holding area. In there were three cells, each one holding what looked to be a human. Two were male, both sitting and staring out at the newcomers in a deliberate and obviously aggressive fashion. The third was a blonde woman, early thirties, average height, average weight. She jumped to her feet when she saw the people coming, moving to the front of the cell, her hands against the clear front.

"Supergirl! Supergirl, you need to get me out of here! There are more of those trucks moving out across the country. There will be more going out as soon as more pods are ready. We need to stop the invasion!" The woman called out excitedly.

"Who's that?" Alex asked.

"The tipster," J'onn replied. "Her name is Elisa, and she was one of three people on the truck. Apparently, she stole a cell phone at one of their stops, called the police to alert them of the illegal transport over state lines. When the police and FBI stopped the vehicle…well, you saw what happened. When backup got the call over the radio and saw the remains at the scene, it made its way to us. We were able to intercept the truck, and luckily Supergirl and I were there. These two," J'onn said pointing to the men in the other cells. "They're stronger, and faster than a human by far, and they heal at an extremely fast rate. Even shooting them will only take them down for a minute or two. Anything short of killing them is a stopgap at best."

"It took you and Supergirl to take down two of them?" Vasquez asked, blinking rapidly. "And she says there are more trucks out there?"

"Now you understand why we've ordered all hands on deck," J'onn said, his usually serious expression looking even graver. "We do have the cargo, and Supergirl recognizes it."

"It's not good," Kara said, her shoulders drooping as she let out a heavy sigh. "We called it Zeos Daic, Home's Kiss. They weren't indigenous to Krypton, but they had come to our planet. I'd read about them in the archives. Those infected by the spores were quite powerful, and they worked together like…it wasn't a hive mind. They didn't seem to know each other's thoughts, but they were all completely loyal to each other and to their goal."

"What was their goal?" Alex asked.

"Spreading the plants across the planet, taking over all intelligent life, and creating a new home for themselves. We were lucky that we were as technologically advanced as we were. They were physically much stronger than us. If not for our science, we never would have been able to beat them back, and they would have taken over all of Krypton."

"We're no Krypton," Vasquez noted.

"Correct Agent, but we do know more about these invaders than Krypton did at the time they were assaulted. Supergirl?" J'onn looked to Kara to add more.

"Yeah, right," Kara said nodding. "So the only way to stop them is to destroy the main plant, the mother plant I guess. We need to find her location and destroy her. She directs the spread of the others. Once she's shut down, the others will die, and people will be freed. Also, she won't be able to make any more of these pods to infect new people."

"So we destroy the head," Alex said, hand on the pistol on her thigh. "Where is she?"

"We don't know," J'onn replied. "We know where this truck came from, and our witness here tells us there was a meteor that came down in her town nearly two months ago. That would lead us to believe that the main alien is in her town, but we don't know for certain. Given what this is, we've had to alert the military. They're consulting with the President on a military response."

"What does that mean?" The woman in the cell asked, hands pressed against the clear surface as anxiety rode along her features. "Are you going to bomb my town? Are you going to nuke us or something?"

"How many civilians?" Alex asked schooling her face to neutrality.

"It's a small town, 320 people on the last census," J'onn replied. "We're assuming the main plant is in there, but we don't know for certain."

"So we need more information, a reconnaissance mission," Alex noted.

"They'll kill you," the woman warned. "Anyone that doesn't belong goes in that town, they die. We had a bus stop in to fill up on its way through town. The sheriff rode out to see the tourists and questioned them as to who they were and what they were doing in town. When they said they were just passing through, the sheriff said something like, 'This isn't your home.' Then he just started to attack them. He ripped them apart, and the folks from the gas station started helping. The tourists were screaming, running for their lives. I work across the way at the diner, and they were running that way. People came out of the diner and when tourists got near us, folks just started ripping them apart. In just a few minutes there must have been fifty of them dead, all torn to shreds. I went to the bathroom to throw up so no one would see me. Everyone else just went back to work. Later, the trash guys were out tossing the body parts into the back of a truck and hosing off the street. I never saw what happened to that bus."

"Why do they kill visitors?" Vasquez asked.

The woman just shook her head, but Kara said, "On Krypton, when it happened, we ran into the same thing. Natives from other districts and aliens were killed. Nothing in the archives explained it."

"Maybe it has something to do with the greeting," the blonde woman suggested.

"What greeting?" Alex asked.

Tapping on the clear wall in front of her, the woman said, "You know, I might be more helpful if I wasn't the girl under glass. Maybe I could get out of here?"

"Sir?" Alex asked, looking over at J'onn for his thoughts.

"Her mind is clear and non-hostile unlike theirs," J'onn replied, gesturing toward the other two men they had in captivity. "Their thoughts are to kill us all, get back their cargo, and continue their mission. She is frightened and concerned for those who have been taken over by whatever this is."

"Zeos Daic, Home's Kiss," Kara repeated.

Alex looked from J'onn to Kara, then walked over to a panel on the wall, releasing the women they had in captivity. Rejoining the group she gave the woman a quick nod with her chin and said, "Now tell me about this greeting.

"I saw it when they were first dragging us in to be zombified or whatever they did to Enos and B.J. over there," the blonde replied as she joined the DEO agents and gestured at the men still in the holding cell.

"Their names are Enos and B.J.?" Vasquez asked. "Seriously, one of them goes by B.J.?"

"Yeah, Billy James, B.J.," the woman replied.

"Douche," Vasquez mumbled.

Clearing her throat and rubbing at her lips to hide her smirk of agreement, Alex said, "Just tell us about this greeting uh…Elisa wasn't it?"

"Yes, Elisa," the woman said. "Anyway, they started to drag us into the church. They'd just hold us, and we'd get sprayed in the face by one of the little plants. I never saw a bigger plant, but I heard the council members talking about one. Anyway, I saw about a dozen people before me get sprayed in the face. They'd cough and choke, like some kind of major pollen attack. After they could breathe again, someone would say to them, 'Welcome home," and hold out their arms for a hug. Then the person who'd been sprayed would say, 'It's good to be home.' They'd step in for a hug, and suddenly they were on the other side. Everyone trusted them. It was freaky."

"But you weren't affected?" Kara asked.

"They sprayed me with the plant, like I coughed and choked, but when they welcomed me home and offered to hug me, I froze up for a second. I saw people tense, so I said, 'It's good to be home.' And I stepped in and got hugged. Suddenly everyone just treated me like I drank the Kool-Aid, you know?"

"Weird," Alex said. "So you're immune. I'll need some of your blood. I'll need to run up a full toxicology report and see if I can find out why. There has to be a reason. Maybe I can make an antidote to this thing's spores or a blocking agent so that we can get someone in there and—"

"It won't matter. They'll kill anyone who isn't supposed to be in the town as soon as they enter," Elisa reminded them. "Unless you come from Blue Springs, Nebraska, you're as good as dead as soon as you enter that town."

Stepping into Elisa's space so that the woman stumbled back, Alex stared down at the blonde and asked, "I'm sorry, but what the fuck town did you say you come from?"

It was about twenty minutes later when Maggie rolled up outside the DEO building and strode in. She was ushered quickly through security with even less issue than usual. Her keen eyes noticed the rush and anxiety of the agents within, and she had to push the tension out of her body, not wanting to add to the stress. Maybe this wasn't Daxam invasion bad, but it looked like how things might have been if they'd had some warning.

"Maggie!"

Maggie looked up, smiling at her girlfriend's voice even when hearing the worry contained in the one word, when seeing the tight walk and taught line's on Alex's face. Pushing out a smile, Maggie replied, "Hey, Danvers, I knew you couldn't stay away. You really think this is a better date than the amusement park? I think my idea was pretty good."

"Sorry," Alex said a bit sheepishly, ducking her head as she stepped too close to be professional. Speaking in hushed tones, she added, "We have a major situation. We could really use your help."

"Yeah, I figured sweetie. Anything. Always," Maggie answered immediately in like volume, her thumb gently running along the back of Alex's knuckles before she drew her hand back, very aware of their surroundings even if no one was paying them any mind.

Alex couldn't suppress a shudder at the contact, no matter how minor. She quickly tipped her head to the side for Maggie to follow as she headed to a conference room area. As she walked, Alex said, "So, we intercepted a trailer containing an alien lifeform and two infected humans. There was a third human within who is apparently immune to the infection. I'm analyzing her blood. I'm hoping it can supply us with some answers, something we can use to battle the alien infection."

"I saw the trailer. It was kind of hard to miss. What exactly kind of alien infection are we talking about?"

"It's a plant, and it's been to Krypton. Supergirl says that without their advanced science, their whole planet might have been taken over by it. Apparently, it releases spores, and the victims start working for the good of the main plant. Eventually, the thing will take over a whole planet. Supergirl calls it Home's Kiss."

"Well that's not fucking creepy," Maggie noted.

Alex sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck. "We intercepted one truck, but there are over a dozen others heading out across the country. J'onn and Supergirl have gotten information as to departure times, and Winn was using satellite information to try and track down the other shipments. As soon as he has that, they're going to try and head off the rest of the trucks. They've got Superman on stand-by, and he says he's calling in some other people since we're dealing with a possible global catastrophe."

"Okay, so why am I here? You need someone to write these guys a speeding ticket? It's not my specialty, but I can do it in a pinch," Maggie offered.

"Well, the thing is, it's about their home base. Mags, there are over 300 civilians in that town, and the military wants to call in a strike and wipe it out to destroy whatever is sending these things out."

"Fuck," Maggie half whispered. "That's…that's awful, Alex. I bet a lot of those people are kids, right?"

"I don't know their ages, but I'm sure there are kids, yeah," Alex agreed. "You see, we have one person who got out, and if I can create a vaccine to make a person immune, we could get someone inside, take out the main plant, and free everyone without any more deaths."

"Okay. Sounds good," Maggie said nodding along as she and Alex stopped in front of a conference room door. "I still don't see why I'm here."

"Because the occupants of the town will kill anyone who isn't from the town, who doesn't belong there, and who tries to enter. Anyone taken over by the plant is nearly as strong and fast as Supergirl and heals from anything short of death in just a few minutes." Alex placed her hands on Maggie's shoulder's, then slid them up to the back of her girlfriend's neck as she said, "Sweetie, the town is Blue Springs, Nebraska."

"Blue…" Eyes going wide, Maggie would have stumbled back if Alex hadn't been holding her in place. "That's where I was born. That's where my family still is."

"I know, babe. That's why you're here. You're the only person we know who can get into the town and find the main plant. We need your help. What do you think?"

Maggie blinked, grabbing one of Alex's wrists and squeezing it for mutual comfort as she asked, "You said someone got out?"

"Yeah, we had one escapee who alerted us to this situation and called the cops. That's how we got looped in. You want to talk to her?"

Maggie nodded.

Hand on the doorknob, Alex looked back at Maggie and smiled as she said, "Hey, maybe you know her."

With a wry grin Maggie replied, "Alex, I grew up in a town of 300 people. If she's over twenty-years-old, I know her. Coming to National City was a huge culture shock for me when I was trying to find a place more accepting and with a real LGBTQ community. We used to have Sunday socials that included every single member of our town."

"I can't imagine," Alex said with a head shake.

"You're lucky you'll never have to experience it. Let's go meet the other person who was lucky enough to find their way out of Blue Springs."

Alex opened the door, turning and letting Maggie walk by her when she heard her name.

"Alex, do you have an update on the blood analysis from our guest yet?" J'onn asked. "We need that ASAP if we're going to convince the ARMY we have a non-lethal option. Major Lane is trying to buy us some time, but she can only hold them off for so long. They keep throwing around the term 'acceptable losses', and with the pictures of the dead FBI agents and police officers, we don't really have much of an argument."

"Lucy's involved? Thank God!" Alex said with a relieved sigh. "If anyone can be a voice of sanity here, it's her. Otherwise, it's a just a bunch of old white guys who want to shoot off missiles that look like giant dicks to make up for their apparent malfunctioning dicks. You know how men…uh…I mean…No offense J'onn. You're uh…you're not even a…I mean, I don't even know what the shape of your…" Hands held at waist level between her and J'onn, Alex's gaze wandered back up to meet his. "I'm suddenly incredibly uncomfortable with this conversation."

"You're not the only one, Agent Danvers," J'onn deadpanned. "So the update on that sample you're analyzing?"

"Oh!" Pulling out her cellphone, Alex said, "I have my lab set to alert me as soon as it's finished compiling the information. It's not ready yet, but I'll let you know as soon as it is, Sir."

"Please do. Hundreds of lives are depending on it," J'onn said as he walked away. He was about ten feet down the hall when he stopped and said, "And Agent Danvers."

"Sir?"

"The medical database that houses information we've gathered on all the alien species is for official use only, not for sating anyone's idle curiosity." He glanced over his shoulder. "I know what you're thinking."

"Well, that's going on my review," Alex mumbled as she watched him walk away.

Squaring her shoulders, Alex plastered a smile on her face and stepped into the room expecting the people inside would be chatting about the town where they both grew up. However, the atmosphere within the room was anything but friendly. If she could have, Alex would have turned up the heat to beat back the icy chill blowing between the two women. Maggie stood with her hands in fists, her whole body as tight as a piano wire. Her arms shook, and her breath came rapidly as she stared daggers at the woman across the table from her. In turn, the woman's body language was defensive, shoulders curled in and one arm wrapped around her body with a hand covering her mouth. The duo obviously had history, and it looked a bit like World War II.

"Maggie, what's wrong?" Alex asked as she lay a hand carefully on the smaller woman's shoulder.

"Do you know who that is?" Maggie snapped back from between gritted teeth.

"Yes, this is Elise…um…" Grabbing the paperwork from the table, Alex looked down at the sheet and said, "Elise Caroline Wilkey, right?"

"No, this is Elisa Caroline 'fucking outed me at fourteen and got me kicked out of my house and my town, so I had to sleep on my aunt's couch until she finished the basement for me' Wilkey," Maggie corrected.

"Oh fuck!" Alex said, dropping the paperwork on the table. "She's that Elise?"

"Maggie, I am so sorry," Elisa said, her hands trembling as she held them out in front of her. "I was just a kid."

"So was I!" Maggie yelled. "I was the same age as you, and I was your best friend. I thought you were my best friend! I thought…fuck!" Palms flat down on the table and face forward, Maggie took several heavy breaths before she looked over at Alex. "She's the only one who made it out?"

"Who isn't infected, as far as we know, yes," Alex agreed.

"Fuck." Maggie shook her head, then turned and left the room. "I need a minute."

"Maggie we need to—"

"I need air, Danvers!" Maggie said, not stopping.

Maybe ten minutes later, Alex was on the upper level. The agent walked along the crosswalk to where Maggie sat under the skylight. The brunette's legs dangled while she looked up at the sky, her thumb rubbing idly over the badge she held in her hand. If Maggie noticed Alex, she didn't react. She just stared up at the stars, her mind a million miles away, or more like 1,550 miles away and about eighteen years in the past.

"Hey," Alex said as she came to stand behind where Maggie sat looking skyward.

"Hey," Maggie replied.

"Mind if I…?"

"Pull up a piece of crosswalk," Maggie replied without even looking. When Alex had slid in next to her, Maggie said, "What are the odds huh? Like 300 people in that town, and Elisa Wilkey shows up in National City. What are the odds of an alien invasion in Blue Springs, Nebraska? I mean, we don't even have our own post office."

"You don't? How the fuck can you not…? How do you mail a letter?"

"We have mailboxes for letters, and the mailman comes through because I doubt we're PC enough to call him a letter carrier yet, but you need to drive down to Wymore if you want to mail a package. Wymore's a big town, over a thousand people, and a quick drive. You can walk there in maybe a half an hour. They have a movie theater there." Looking up at Alex, a hint of a smile showed on Maggie's face. "They even have a Dollar General store."

"A Dollar General, well excuse me," Alex said holding up her hands at shoulder height while she laughed slightly. "National City has nothing on Wymore."

"You better believe it," Maggie agreed with her own chuckle.

Silence stretched between them, hanging heavily in the air. Maggie's thoughts were jumbled, her teenage insecurities that she thought were laid to rest suddenly resurfaced. They floated across her mind like oil on top of water. The streetwise cop who negotiated for the release of hostages and stared down aliens twice her size had somehow shrunk to be swallowed behind the shadow of an anxious teen, not white enough, not straight enough, not loved enough to even live under her own roof. The words 'no daughter of mine' echoed, deafening as if they were spoken over and over again just now, not eighteen years ago.

When a leg slide behind her and warm arms surrounded Maggie, wrapping her in love and acceptance, doubt retreated. Maggie breathed in Alex's scent, but what she really remembered was herself. She remembered the girl who survived the rejection and abandonment of not being who other people thought she was. She remembered the girl who grew into the woman discovering who she actually was and loved her. She remembered finding strength in herself and learning that family isn't defined by blood but love and respect. She remembered having a partner who celebrated not just her successes but every part of her, who knew every part of her and loved every part of her, someone who saw her imperfections and loved her for them. Wrapped in Alex's arms, Maggie felt…

"What are you thinking?" Alex asked.

"God, I'm glad I'm gay."

Alex laughed. "I'm glad you're gay too."

"I bet you are," Maggie responded with a laugh. "What I mean is, if I were straight I would never have had to go on this journey of self-discovery. I think it must be easy being straight, and I'm sure there are lots of woke straight folks out there, but I don't imagine there are any LGBTQ folks who are just dialing in life, you know?"

"I'm textbook," Alex replied. "I spent so long doing what was expected of me, following society's rules, that I never took the time to ask myself what I actually wanted to do. I don't think I ever even stopped to consider that question. Then I met this cute girl, and in like two days she turned my whole world upside down, had me asking questions to things where I thought I'd always had the answers. She blew the roof off my whole life, and for the first time ever, I saw the sky, the stars. Suddenly, there were no limits."

"Damn, Danvers, she sounds hot," Maggie said with a grin. "Do I know her?"

"Oh, God no. She's wicked bossy. You'd never be able to stand her."

"Bitch," Maggie chuckled, wrapping her arm around one of Alex's and pulling the redhead closer. "Life just keeps getting better doesn't it?"

"Well, except for the constant alien invasions, sure."

"I've stopped counting those. Those are why we do yoga."

Taking her head from Maggie's shoulder and sliding her body around until she could see the smaller woman's face, Alex said, "I thought you took yoga so you could show up late, get a spot in the back of the room, and check out the butt of the girl who walks dogs for a living."

Gasping with fake indignity, Maggie met Alex's gaze as she replied, "I am in a monogamous relationship. I don't even notice other women…though she does have a nice butt."

"Yeah she does," Alex said with a smile. "So, what are we doing here, Sawyer? No pressure. You can only do what you can do."

"Protect and serve."

"Hmmm?"

Maggie held up her badge. "I swore to protect and serve. Those people may not want me, but I took an oath to protect and serve the citizens of National City. I'd do it for anyone, though. I'd do it for anyone whether or not they'd do anything for me. So I guess I go protect and serve."

Her smile slowly growing, Alex said, "My God, I love you more every day. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

"Uh, yeah. I keep telling you how awesome I am, don't I?" Maggie replied as she let her dimples show.

"You're right. You do. So this all hinges on me being able to synthesize a vaccine on your first crushes blood. Unless we get some positive results before the Army—" Alex's phone beeped loudly, and she pulled it out of her pocket, looking from it to Maggie, her eyebrows held high on her face.

"That was one of those eerily timed things that usually only happens on TV shows, right?"

Alex nodded. "I was able to locate the enzyme in Elisa's blood that is creating antibodies to the alien infestation. With this, I can make us a vaccine."

Patting Alex's arm, Maggie rose and Alex followed her along the catwalk toward the stairs. "Awesome. Okay, so how long will it take you to get me a…wait a minute, you said us. You said you could make us a vaccine. Alex, you can't go with me. You said the people in there are as strong and fast as your sister and will kill anyone who isn't from Blue Springs. They'll kill you. I have to go alone."

"Sweetie, they'll kill anyone who doesn't belong. If Maggie Sawyer brings her fiancée home to meet her parents, then that fiancée belongs, right?" Alex explained with a broad smile.

"That's your plan!?" Maggie rolled her eyes. "Holy fuck, Danvers. If the alien plant things don't kill us, my dad might. Do you have any idea how homophobic these people are? I got kicked out of town at fourteen. No one called child services. No one tried to stop my parents. My parents went to church and prayed for my soul; they got comfort from the reverend for what they were going through. I'm lucky I didn't get sent off to conversion Bible Camp."

"This will be different. I had a long talk with Elisa before I know she was **the** Elisa. She told me that everyone works together all the time now. There's no more bullying at school, no racial issues, no financial problems, nothing. Everyone does what's best for the community. It sounds fairly idyllic," Alex admitted.

"Except for the lack of free will."

"I work for the government. Everything has its downsides," Alex said with a shrug. When they reached the stairs, Alex tipped her head back and spoke in a normal voice but said, "Kara…I have results on the blood work. Maggie and I are heading to my lab. Stop eating, grab Elisa Wilkey and J'onn, and meet us there."

"How do you know she's eating?"

Looking sideways at the other woman, Alex tipped her head to the side and asked, "Are you serious? This is Kara. She's probably munching her way through a dozen donuts."

"Good point," Maggie admitted, also raising her voice slightly. "Kara…bring me a donut."

"No, no food in the lab," Alex said, then pitching her voice out a bit more she added, "Kara…no food in the lab. You know that. We've spoken about this."

Maggie laughed.

"Damn cops and their donuts," Alex grumbled.


	3. 3 - Diamonds and Sapphires

Staring into the microscope, Alex could feel the tremble in the floor as Supergirl paced back and forth in the lab. As the hero grew closer, a breeze would note the blonde's passing. Moments later, as the vibrations grew a bit stronger again, there would be another breeze. Sighing, Alex rolled her shoulders as she sat back on her stool.

"You okay?" Maggie asked

"I'm going to shoot her."

"Who?" Maggie looked up as the hero grew nearer again. "Her? It won't do anything."

"Not true. It will relieve some of my tension. Shooting something always relieves some of my tension."

"You know what else relieves your tension?" Maggie asked with a smile, reaching out a hand but drawing it back as Supergirl stepped in close.

"Well? Do you have results? Do you have a vaccine?" Kara asked, bouncing up and down a little bit with her usual enthusiasm for life.

"I think so," Alex admitted as she turned and rubbed at her eyes. "We'll be dealing with a live virus though. If I'm wrong—"

"You're never wrong. You're amazing, Alex," Kara said, grabbing her sister's shoulders with just a bit too much strength.

"Ugh. Easy."

"Sorry," Kara replied as her grip slackened.

"Don't worry about it," Alex said, patting one of her sister's hands as she stood and walked away. "I'm just tense and feeling rushed. If this doesn't work, then I'll have infected someone instead of providing a vaccine."

"Which is why J'onn has sent you Agent Red Shirt here," Winn announced as he walked into the lab with another agent next to him.

The man was one of the newer agents: young, blond, idealistic. Alex frowned, trying to recall his name from their brief introduction and training session. She remembered kicking his ass, and she had to suppress a smile at that memory even in this situation. The agent hadn't done anything memorable yet except bleed. Maybe Red Shirt was a good name for him.

"We have a volunteer?" Kara asked.

"Uh…sure. Let's call him a volunteer," Winn agreed as he ducked his head and scratched at the back of his neck. Clearing his throat he mumbled, "Not all straws are created equal."

Brow furrowed, Kara asked, "What does that—?"

"Hey, Supergirl, we're going to need to take this conversation back to holding," Alex said before Kara got too caught up in the idea of short straws and lack of volunteers. "I'll need your help there, but then I've got another task for you, okay?"

"Sure? What is it?"

Grabbing what she hoped was a syringe of the vaccine, and not just something that would end up infecting yet another person, and her mobile lab case, Alex walked toward the door and motioned everyone to follow her. "First we verify this works. If it doesn't, I'm heading back to the drawing board. That assumes Lucy can buy us more time."

"If anyone can do it, Lucy can. She's pretty amazing," Kara said glancing at her sister.

"Mmmm," Alex hummed in agreement.

"Am I going to meet this Lucy?" Maggie asked as she hurried to catch up to the sisters. "The way you two keep going on about her, she seems to be the best thing since me."

"Actually, I think she was the best thing before you," Kara said looking over her shoulder with a broad smile.

"Supergirl may be right. Lucy was…" Eyebrows raised, Alex took one stumbling step before continuing on her way normally.

"That was smooth, Danvers. What was that?" Maggie asked as she caught up to Alex.

"Nothing, well, maybe a gay epiphany, but I don't have time for it right now. I'll schedule in some time to deal with that later…or not. Yeah, maybe not. I'm good with not," Alex assured herself.

"O-kay," Maggie said not pushing. They had too much on their plates to worry about it, and pushing was never the right answer anyway. If Alex wanted to talk about it later, she would. If not, then there was nothing to talk about. "So, how long before we know if your science experiment worked or not, Doc?"

"I honestly don't know. A general rule of thumb to a vaccine is that it takes two weeks to work. Some vaccines take multiple doses to work. We don't have two weeks, though. I don't know if we have two hours," Alex admitted.

"So?"

Looking at Maggie, Alex put her hand on the panel that unlocked the detainee area. "So we do the science and hope for the best."

In the back, Winn clapped the young agent on the shoulder and said, "Sorry, Red Shirt."

The group of five entered the area. The two men from earlier sat in their cells, watching the newcomers intently, still the same open look of hostility on their faces. Elisa's containment unit stood empty, the panel raised. Laying her mobile case on the table, Alex pulled out an alcohol wipe, ripped it open, and turned to the agent who had come in with Winn. She rubbed briefly at his upper right arm, jabbing him with the needle and injecting him with the syringe.

"In," Alex said, pointing to the open containment cell. When the agent did as he was told, she locked the cell behind him.

"Soooo…" Winn rocked back and forth on his heels. "How long are we going to wait for Agent Red Shirt to change into a pod person…or not?" Winn added quickly when Alex's head whipped around to face him.

"Don't call him that. His name is…"

As Alex's voice petered off, Winn offered, "Jones, but folks call him Jonesy."

"I knew that," Alex muttered.

"No you didn't," Winn said with a snort.

"I did," Kara chirped up. "On Monday, Jonesy brought in a whole bunch of leftover chips he had from a party over the weekend. There was some dip too."

"Fine, you remember chips and dip," Alex said pulling out her cellphone and setting a timer for twenty minutes. "If he isn't controlled by an alien plant in twenty minutes, I'll find Agent Jones very memorable."

"If he is controlled by an alien plant in twenty minutes, I'll find Agent Jones very memorable," Maggie added.

Slowly, Alex, Maggie, Winn, and Kara all approached the agent in the containment cell. Agent Jones stood there for a few minutes looking awkwardly between the superhero, the technician, the DEO's second-in-command, and the detective. After a minute or two, he waved hesitantly. Kara waved back, smiling brightly.

"Stop that," Alex said, grabbing her sister's hand.

"What? That's got to be a good sign, right? If he was controlled by Zeos Daic, he wouldn't be waving at us. He'd be like…well like those guys," Kara said, pointing at the glaring men in the other cells. "If he's waving, he's still on our side."

"She's got you there, Danvers," Maggie agreed.

"I prefer my scientific research to be based more on science and less on giggles and waves," Alex replied. "If it's all right with you two, I think I'll wait until my timer goes off and do a blood test."

"Well okay, but I think you're wasting your time." Leaning down to look at the phone in her sister's hand, Kara said, "So I've got like seventeen minutes. Are we good if I get something to eat?"

"Jesus Ka…Supergirl. You just ate," Alex sighed out.

"Over an hour ago. Plus I'm probably going to have to go fly all over the country and track down a bunch of trucks and capture some infected aliens soon. I need to charge up before then." Kara twirled her finger in a circle, demonstrating the way she'd be flying all around the country. "Anyone else want food?"

"Fifteen minutes. You be back here in fifteen minutes and not a minute less. I need you back here when we open that cell and let out…"

"Jonesy," Winn reminded Alex.

"I knew that," Alex snapped. "Fifteen minutes Supergirl, you hear me?"

Nodding quickly, the blonde disappeared in a flash.

Just over fifteen minutes later, when her alarm on her phone sounded, Alex growled. "She's late. One thing, I asked one thing of her and—"

"I'm here!" Kara said as she reappeared with a breeze that moved the hair and clothing of the other occupants in the room.

"You're late. Where were you?"

"Eating," Kara replied as she tossed a donut hole into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before adding, "I heard the alarm and came right back."

"Fine. Whatever." Stalking over to the panel to release the door, Alex put her hand over it and said, "Agent Jones hasn't shown any overt signs of change. We still need you to be ready to intercede should his behavior become erratic. Winn has temporarily suspended agent Jones' access so that he cannot release anyone else even if he is infected. I just need to get some blood so I can check for an active infection. You ready?"

"Ready, Freddy," Kara replied.

Rolling her eyes, Alex opened the door.

The agent stepped out of the cell slowly, carefully. Everyone waited, but he just held up his hands and didn't try anything.

"Agent Jones, I need a blood sample. Supergirl is going to restrain you while I get it," Alex informed the agent.

"Yes, Ma'am," Agent Jones replied.

After the blood sample was taken without incident, the agent returned to his cell. Everyone waited around impatiently while Alex checked the results with the microscope she'd brought in her mobile kit. After several moments, Alex sat back and let out a deep breath.

"Well?" Maggie asked.

"Well…" Turning to face Maggie, the redhead said, "We have a vaccine. I need some of your blood."

"You damn romantic, Danvers. If I had a nickel for every girl who said that to me," Maggie said, unbuttoning her sleeve and rolling it up.

As Alex took a vial of Maggie's blood, Kara asked, "So we're good?"

"One final test," Alex replied, labeling Maggie's blood and prepping a draw for herself. "We need to make sure the vaccine holds up to the airborne infectant."

"Any reason it wouldn't?" Maggie asked.

"Only because our luck sucks. I'd rather find out now than when we're in Blue Springs," Alex replied. After labeling her blood, she did a draw of each, added the vaccine, then did a check under the microscope to test for the reaction. Once she had the results she needed, she gave both herself and Maggie and injection of the vaccine. Alex packed up her kit and released Agent Jones. "Come on everyone. Let's go check out our alien lifeform and make sure this vaccine stands up to direct contact. I'm kind of curious to see this thing up close and in person…so to speak."

"You haven't seen it yet?" Maggie asked.

"Nope. They brought it in when I was with you. We can meet it together. It should be interesting."

"Feed me, Seymour!" Kara said in an oddly deep voice, laughing slightly. The smile fell off her face when Maggie and Alex both shot looks over their shoulders at her. "Sorry. I'm tense, and musicals always make me feel better."

"Exactly how big is this thing?" Maggie asked.

Before Kara could answer, Alex replied, "Small from what I've heard. The one in town is big, but this is just a pod."

Eyes wide and eyebrows high, Kara walked behind her sister and Maggie but said nothing.

"What the fuck is that!?" Alex asked.

The plant was about three feet tall, taller when it rose up on its vines and tried to move toward the people who entered the room. It couldn't go very far as it was stuck inside another containment cell. It was a very dark green, four pieces coming together in a rounded diamond shape to make its top. Foliage lay along the base along with smaller vines. Some small vines moved through the air as if listening or tasting the air, sensing what was around it.

"Alex! Language!"

"Supergirl! Alien plant thing!" Alex retorted. "I see a three-foot-tall plant with vines moving around on its own; I get to drop an f-bomb. That's a rule."

"Eliza wouldn't like it."

"Well, Mom isn't here. Don't be a tattle-tale. Snitches get stitches," Alex reminded her sister. "Anyway, you said that thing was supposed to be a little pod. That is not some little pod. It looks aggressive. Does that thing eat people?"

"No. They're not carnivorous," Kara assured her sister. "They pull nutrients from the soil and use sunlight. They're plants."

Maggie piped up, "No, it's pushing on the cell. That's not a plant. That's a Creature Double Feature. I've seen this movie. It doesn't work out well for the minority chick. Fuck. I'm the minority chick…and the cop. I'm so not living through this. Don't take this the wrong way, Danvers, but you're not getting laid until the credits roll."

"Excuse me?"

Maggie nodded up at Alex. "You heard me. This shit redefines safe sex. You've seen horror movies. Couples having sex always die. You're a great lay, but you're not worth—"

Clearing her throat, Alex motioned twice with her eyes toward her sister, cutting off further conversation. Smiling awkwardly and anxious to get back on track, Alex asked, "So if that's a little pod, how big is the mother plant?"

"Oh, big. Like, you know, big." Supergirl put her hand over her head. Slowly, she started to rise into the air until her hand hit the ceiling and she repeated, "Big."

"Big," Maggie and Alex said together, both staring up in awe.

"Yup. So, we ready to test out Jonesy here?" Kara asked as she lowered herself to the floor again.

"Hold on a minute," Alex said. "Are you sure that thing won't hurt him?"

"It's not dangerous," Kara promised. "I mean, it can control your mind, subjugate your will, and they take over entire planets of lifeforms to basically become their meat puppets to serve the will of the mother plant, but it's not dangerous. It only uses its vines for locomotion and gathering information."

"Right. Sounds perfectly safe," Maggie said putting her back to Kara so she could give Alex her best 'WTF!' face before turning back to the hero and asking, "How do we get it back in there?"

Kara pointed to some safety suits hanging on the wall. "You and Winn should stay outside. Alex and I can handle this."

"Actually, why don't you and Winn stay outside and let Maggie and me do this," Alex said. "She and I have had the vaccine. If anything goes wrong, we have a chance of being immune. As far as we know, Kryptonians and Martians aren't immune to this thing, and we need you and J'onn to stop the rest of the trucks."

Though she didn't like it, Kara nodded and left the room, taking Winn with her.

"Maggie and I can handle this?" Maggie asked as she put on the safety suit. "Look at the size of that thing. Do we even have any weed killer?"

"Apparently they're fire adverse," Alex replied as she pulled on her suit and pointed to two metal objects on the wall. They had cylinders on the bottom and nozzles maybe a foot long with triggers. "We've got mini-blowtorches which should do the trick."

"Should?"

Alex shrugged. "We'll be fine. Anyway, it could be worse. We could be Jones."

Looking over at the agent who was staring at the alien plant and sweating profusely despite the comfortable temperature in the room, Maggie replied, "Truth."

Maggie took up position near Jonesy, her blowtorch ready, while Alex used the control panel to release the plant. It immediately moved toward Jonesy, using vines to rise from the ground and scurry across the floor at an alarming rate. Neither Maggie nor the agent could stop themselves from stepping back. The alien stopped maybe three feet from the agent, tilting the body of itself forward and releasing a cloud of spores directly into Jonesy's face.

Coughing and choking, the agent collapsed to hands and knees gasping for air. The plant returned to an upright position and relaxed back to the ground, its job obviously completed. It didn't seem to pay Alex or Maggie any mind. They watched Jonesy for a few awkward seconds, unable to help him, not sure what to do next, and hoping they wouldn't suddenly have to fight a super soldier hell-bent on world domination.

Maggie jumped when she heard Alex's voice from the built-in speakers saying, "We need to get that thing back into its cell." Then Alex's torch was lit, and she was moving toward the plant.

Following suit, Maggie flicked the trigger which opened the valve and hit the spark simultaneously. There was a rush of noise as the gas continued to surge and blue flames held at the very tip of the tube with red shooting further out. Following Alex's lead, Maggie advanced on the plant from the other side, giving it no room to maneuver. It had no choice but to back up. Its vines whipped but not aggressively. It seemed to be sensing, gathering data, looking for an out as it backed up into the relative safety of its cell.

"Do you got it?"

"I got it," Maggie replied, not taking her eye off the plant as Alex ran to the side and closed the cell door.

Both women turned, watching the agent on the floor who was gulping down air but whose breathing had yet regularized. When there was a knock on the glass door into the hallway, they looked up together.

Pointing to herself, and then into the room, Kara nodded.

"No," Alex replied, knowing her sister could hear her. She pointed at the agent on the floor. "Until he is decontaminated until the whole room goes through detox, no one comes in here. Maggie and I will handle this." At the sound of a bullet being chambered, Alex looked over at Maggie who had picked up a weapon from the table. A small smile came to Alex's lips. "We've got this."

"You good?" Maggie asked.

Alex nodded, putting her blowtorch back on the wall and picking up her own weapon. "Really hope we don't have to shoot him."

"Same here. Really, really hope he doesn't kill us."

Their gazes locked for a few moments and Alex replied, "Same here. That would be the worst date ever, huh?"

"Eh, I've had worse."

Looking over at the agent who had risen to stand with his hands on his knees, Alex nodded slowly as she shrugged. "Actually, so have I."

"For real?"

"Well…Maxwell Lord."

"Oh, babe I…" Maggie's gaze went from Alex to the Agent Jonesy, stopped on the plant, then finally settled on Alex again when she said, "I've met him. That is a fate worse than death."

Any further banter was cut off as Agent Jonesy rose to his full height, taking in a deep breath. Weapons were pointed at him; hands held steady from years of training and numerous live firefights. He took in their stances, the weapons, the looks in their eyes, and he nodded. Hands behind his back, legs slightly splayed, he coughed slightly as he stood at parade rest.

"Agent Jones?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked.

"Like I understand why my little brother uses an inhaler. Asthma is a bitch…ma'am," he replied, just the hint of a smile on his lips. "I feel like myself though, ma'am."

Alex nodded. "We're going to need a blood test to confirm no infection. Detective Sawyer here is going to cover you while I do the drawer. You move, touch me, so much as twitch, she's going to open fire."

"Lots," Maggie added.

"I understand, ma'am," Jonesy replied.

There was a knock on the door and Jonesy was the only one who looked up. Maggie and Alex kept the Agent covered. Jonesy's face went through some interesting acrobatics before he swallowed hard.

"I'm assuming Supergirl is reminding you that she's also got you covered," Alex stated.

"Her eyes are ummm…glowing."

"Yeah, they do that," Alex said with a sigh as she put down her weapon and opened her kit. "Her heat vision can cut through that door and you between heartbeats, so don't give her cause."

One blood drawer and screening later, Alex sat back and announced, "He's clear. It looks like the vaccine works. He's good, Mags." When Kara knocked on the door again, she added, "We still need to detox this whole room and us. Jones, strip."

"St…strip?" His eyes flicked nervously between the two women before he smiled awkwardly. "You mean right now?"

"You having performance anxiety?" Maggie asked with a grin.

"If it helps, I'm a doctor," Alex said.

"Yeah, and I don't care. Dicks look weird," Maggie said with a hand gesture toward the male agent's center.

"Maggie, that's not helping," Alex said with an eye roll.

"What? They do."

"Hey, we do fine," the male agent said standing up just a little bit straighter. "Jonesy Jr. here has gotten plenty of compliments."

Maggie chuckled. "Good on you kid."

"Yes, congratulations," Alex added dryly. "Clothes go down that shoot for decontamination. Hurry up. Supergirl, we're clear in here, but we're going to run decontamination procedures on the room. Please send someone for a clean uniform and a towel for Agent Jones." When the agent returned, naked with hands covering his most private areas, Alex asked, "You ready agent?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Excellent. Oh, I should warn you. They don't use warm water."

"Hmmm?"

She pushed the button, and the agent's shriek was many things, but one would not describe it as manly.

Maggie had headed back to her apartment to pack while Alex was down in the armory preparing that part of their supplies. Guns, explosives, communications, other tactical gear, the usual things you'd pack when going to meet your fiancée's parents for the first time was all being packed up. They'd have an SUV with a fairly large yet secret compartment for their trek. Hands on hips, Alex oversaw the agents who were gathering the gear, her face stoic though underneath she was a ball of nervous energy. She and Maggie were going, without backup, into an incredibly dangerous situation and yes…YES! She was going to meet Maggie's parents. She didn't know which one made her more nervous. That was a lie. Danger and death were part of the job. Meeting the parents, ones that had tossed out a teenage Maggie for being gay, that was a once in a lifetime experience and one that wasn't covered in the DEO field manual.

"Hey!" When Alex jumped slightly, Kara placed a hand on her sister's sleeve. "You okay?"

"Of course," Alex replied, her voice its usual commanding calm when at the DEO.

"Oh, well…" Hands on hips and rocking back slightly, Kara unconsciously copied her sister's stance. "What did you need me to do for you? Winn is laying out a grid with the location of the trucks, so we're probably going to be leaving in the next half hour."

"I need you to go shopping for me."

Perking right up, Kara said, "Shopping? Do you need me to get your groceries because—?"

"Supergirl, no. We're grabbing some food from the stocks here for the road trip. I need you to go jewelry shopping." The look on her sister's face made the conversation worth it.

"Huh? I don't…I don't get it. The closest thing you get to jewelry is an extended grip for your gun."

"That's not true. I wear earrings."

"I'm fairly certain those are a disguise, Alex."

"Better than a pair of glasses," Alex mumbled.

"Hey, my glasses work, and they're functional."

Alex's snort turned into a small sound in the back of her throat that she was certain her little sister could still hear. "Anyway, I need you to buy Maggie and me engagement rings."

"Really? Awesome! Wait, why am I buying them?"

"Because we never got any. I kind of popped the question on her suddenly post-Daxam invasion, and the whole ring thing felt very heteronormative. Now it seems—"

"Romantic?" Kara suggested with her sunshine smile as her hands grasped together in front of herself.

"No, now it seems like engagement rings might save our lives from townsfolks mind-controlled by giant alien plant creatures."

"Oh," Kara's face fell as she toed at the floor and her shoulders slumped. "That doesn't sound at all romantic."

"What's not romantic?" Maggie asked as she walked up to the duo.

"I'm asking Supergirl to go ring shopping. You all packed up?"

"Yup. We just need to swing by your place on the way out of town."

"I keep a bag stowed in case of emergencies. I can be quick. We just need to…" Seeing her sister typing into her phone, Alex asked, "What are you doing?"

Still tapping out her message with a little smile, Kara replied, "I'm just asking Lena where the best place to buy an engagement ring is. She knows all about jewelry and stuff."

"Supergirl." Eyebrows pressed together and mouth a tight line, Alex shook her head sharply.

"What?" Kara asked. "Why am I getting one of your heavily disapproving looks?"

With a sigh that held a touch of disgust, Alex replied, "One, if Lena Luthor can afford to shop someplace, this department can't afford it. Two, don't call Lena and ask her about engagement rings because…you're an idiot."

"What!?" Kara said, her hands slapping against her legs.

"Hey, didn't you stop a robbery at that jewelry store on East Elm just a few weeks ago?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, that's right," Kara replied. "The owner even said that if I ever needed anything he could get it for me wholesale. I'll head down there. Good idea Mags. What are your ring sizes?"

"Seven and a half," Alex replied.

"Six and a half," Maggie said.

"You have little fingers," Alex noted as she took one of Maggie's hands in her own.

Maggie grinned. "Like that's news to you."

"Ewww. I'm leaving," Kara said as she departed the room.

"Hmmm…I wonder if I can wiggle my little fingers in front of her and chase her away from pizza?" Maggie mused.

Leaning in close, Alex replied, "Pizza maybe, but not potstickers."

About twenty minutes later, Alex walked outside just as Maggie was loading the last of the gear into the SUV. The night air was warm with a slight breeze. Stars shone in the sky; National City lit up with spots of darkness where construction was still underway. Even with generous donations from L-Corp, private donations from the young CEO above those, it would still be over a year before the city was returned to its former glory

Hand on the open trunk, Maggie smiled back at Alex and said, "Anything else to go in here?"

Alex shook her head but didn't reply, her gaze averting to the city.

"You okay?" Maggie asked as she snapped the trunk closed.

"Walk with me?" Alex asked, still not looking at Maggie as she held out her hand.

"Yeah, sure thing, babe."

Wordlessly, the couple walked hand-in-hand for several minutes. There wasn't another question of 'Are you okay?' because this whole situation sucked. No one checked in verbally with the other. They were just there, giving comfort in their presence. They had the kind of jobs where that presence was an unknown quantity. Realistically, no one in this world could promise always to come home. The odds for some were better than others. They had the kind of jobs where they made the odds better for other people. They had the kinds of jobs that made these quiet moments even more intense in their simplicity.

"So," Alex began. "I love you."

Stopping, Maggie turned and raised her eyebrows, her impish grin and deep dimples showing as she cocked her head to the side. "So, I love you too."

"Yeah, right." Alex rubbed her free hand across the back of her neck. "When I proposed before, it really sucked."

"No, babe it—"

"No, hear me it. We had just barely survived an invasion by a hostile alien force. The city was overrun. We could have lost the planet. We could have died. We almost died. I freaked out…maybe a little bit. I was just so damn happy to be alive and free, and I knew I wanted that always, and I wanted it with you also always, so I just asked you. We hadn't really been dating all that long though, and it was sort of an ambush. Both of our adrenaline was really high and…it sucked."

Chucking, Maggie nodded. "Okay, it kind of did. It was very you though, Danvers."

"Hey, jerk!"

Dancing away and not making it very far because Alex still held her hand, Maggie added, "You're passionate and loving, but you hide it under the tough ass agent exterior. I love that I get to see that side of you that you hide from most of the world. I love that I get to see the real Alex, not just Agent Danvers."

"Yeah?" Alex smiled.

"Yeah," Maggie replied as Alex pulled her into an embrace that led to a brief kiss. "Sappy gestures, crying at movies, sucky emotional responses and all. I love every part of you, Alex and Agent Danvers."

"Well, good, because we're a package deal," Alex said with another kiss, this one less brief as they both ended it with a smile before she pushed back from Maggie. Squaring her shoulders, Alex looked out across the city that she loved, that was still being rebuilt before she turned back to Maggie and lowered herself to one knee. As she pulled out the box, Alex watched Maggie's eyes widen and said, "Second times the charm, right? I want to do it right this time. Will you let me do it right?"

"You don't have to…" Seeing the look in Alex's eyes, the sincerity, Maggie stopped talking and just nodded.

"Maggie Sawyer, I never thought I'd meet anyone like you. I never thought I'd find anyone who understood me like you, who'd help me to understand myself like you do. I never thought I could be so happy with myself let alone another person. I thought all those stupid romantic comedies my sister made me watch were stupid and then…you. You took the lonely out of my life that I didn't even know was there. Maggie, will you marry me?"

Alex opened the box to reveal a princess cut diamond with pear cut sapphires on either side. The ring was white gold, raised up with a sort of scaffolding effect crisscross banding under the stones and above where it would rest on the finger. The main stone wasn't overly large, maybe a little over half a carat, and the sapphires each about half of that. Given Maggie's job, this would probably spend a lot of time in a box.

"Damn, Danvers," Maggie said after a stunned moment of silence. She met Alex's eyes, seeing the agent's nerves and allowed herself to smile deeply as she nodded and said, "Oh, hell yeah. Did you think I was going to back out now?"

"I…" Not answering, Alex slid the ring onto Maggie's finger, delighting as it fit perfectly.

As Alex stood, Maggie held out her hand and said, "My turn now, right?"

"Oh well, I…" Pulling the other box out of her pocket as she put the first away, Alex juggled it around between her hands as she stumbled over her words. "You don't actually have to…I just got it because I wasn't sure if we'd both need…You see your folks…I mean with the town…There's this invasion so…pfff, of course, you know about the invasion. That's why you're here. I just mean that since there's this invasion, I thought—"

"Oh, I see the resemblance now."

"…what?"

"You and Kara, the resemblance. You sound just like her when you can't form a coherent sentence," Maggie said with a grin.

"Screw you, Sawyer."

Laughing, Maggie added, "And there's Agent Danvers. Give me the box."

"You don't have to—"

Hand on the ring box, Maggie stepped in so close that only their hands, one on top of the other on top of the box, were keeping their bodies apart. "Do not try and stop me from being romantic. You don't have the market cornered on this, you hear me, Danvers?"

Alex nodded as she released the box and let Maggie pull it away.

Snapping the box open, Maggie stared at the ring within. It was emerald cut, but about the same size as hers. On the side were emerald cut sapphires in the same direction at the ring, and about the same size as the ones on Maggie's ring. Then lying lengthwise along the band, were a smaller diamond on each side of the ring beyond the sapphire. It had the same scaffolding effect as Maggie's also, definitely looking like they went together.

Letting out a long whistle, Maggie grinned and said, "Hey, I did all right by you, Danvers."

Alex just rolled her eyes and smiled in response.

Clearing her throat, Maggie lowered herself to one knee as she took Alex's hand, thrilled to see the redhead's pupils dilate with excitement, Alex's breathing pick up just slightly. "So, people come to me all the time for dating advice, and I don't know why. There's a big difference between doing something a lot and doing it right. Sure, I've had a lot of experiences, but before you, they were experiences in what not to do. Professionally I moved forward quickly, and that's where I put my energy because I felt like a success there. Dating felt like a series of mistakes, my mistakes, and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get it right. Then I met this crazy smart redhead, and she came at me out of nowhere. I thought I was showing her what she needed in life, her path, but I was wrong. She stepped into my life and reminded me of who I was, that I'm not a complete screw-up and that I'm someone worth loving. I used to look at my past and let it define me, but with a few loving words, unconditionally loving words, you changed all that. Suddenly, I don't regret a single mistake I ever made because they all led me to you. I want to spend every day for the rest of my life loving you. Alex Danvers, will you marry me? Will you be my wife?"

"Oh, my God," Alex said, hand over her mouth as she began to cry. She nodded while Maggie waited. Finally, Alex got out a strangled, "Yes," that allowed Maggie to slide the ring on her finger. When her fiancée stood, they held each other and kissed, both crying though Maggie's were small tears while Alex cried openly. It was a good two or three minutes before Alex regained her composure and they were able to head back toward their SUV.

"So, sapphires," Maggie began. "Those mean anything?"

With a chuckle, Alex replied, "They mean my sister is not so subtle. She has told me, in no uncertain terms, that she looks great in blue. As my maid of honor, which is not up for discussion as if it would be, she is pushing hard for wedding colors here."

"Ah." Maggie nodded. "I like blue, but whatever you want works for me. I'm more interested in what you wear than what the bride's maids wear. Bride's maids are only fun when it isn't your wedding."

"Good to know your head is in the game. For the record, I'm fine with blue if you are. I'm just torturing Kara. Her invulnerability is only skin deep."

"Well, in that case, let's get us a collection of ugly bride's maid dress pictures and leave them around your apartment. If we're going to do this, let's do this right."

Gasping, Alex stopped and grabbed both of Maggie's hands. "Oh, my God! If I weren't already going to marry you, I'd propose right now. That's genius!"

"Thank you. Thank you," Maggie replied, pulling the taller woman back into motion. "I do have a long history of making women very unhappy. I might as well use it for good. So, who do you think she'll be taking to the wedding?"

Alex exhaled heavily. "It's too soon to say. We haven't even set a date yet, and she's single. She might still be then. She seems so much better now, but she's throwing herself into work. It isn't every day your boyfriend gets blasted into space never to return because the atmosphere is toxic to him."

Maggie nodded knowingly as they advanced on the car, making her way to the passenger's side, but before she got in, she said, "Hey, fifty bucks says she takes Luthor."

"No bet. Sucker's bet," Alex replied with a shake of her head. "Plus, I'm not…just no. Let's just deal with this latest invasion. I can only concentrate on one catastrophe at a time."

As they sat down and buckled up, Maggie said, "So we grab your bags, pack up, and then…?"

Looking over at her fiancée, Alex started the SUV and replied, "And then road trip."


	4. 4 - Road Trip

Unfolding herself from the seat of the plane, Alex sat the seat upright and tried to blink some of the sleep from her eyes. She looked around at her surroundings. The view was stark and uninspiring, a small city, very small, sat below but it had an airport and was just a few short hours drive their destination. It would allow them to work out the kinks and get in the feel of their trip before they arrived but also save some precious time with the flight here.

Looking over at Maggie, Alex saw her girlfriend looked much more awake than she felt. "You get any sleep?"

Maggie shrugged. "I wasn't tired."

"Popping a Benadryl would have taken care of that."

That was met with another shrug.

Instead of continuing what was obviously a fruitless line of discussion, Alex decided to change gears. "That North Platte down there?"

Maggie nodded. "The Captain just turned off the no smoking sign, so you're in trouble, Danvers."

"Excuse me?"

Slowly, Maggie turned her head and smiled a bit, her usual charm and swagger beginning to fill in her face again. "Come on, Danvers. You're smoking."

With an eye roll, Alex slapped lightly at Maggie's arm, but she was grinning back. "Flirt."

"Guilty as charged. One of the soldiers, Corporeal Abs of Steel or something, came by a few minutes ago and said we should be landing soon. I was just thinking of waking you. I must have been thinking too loudly. You know what else I was thinking about?"

"It's you. I can imagine," Alex replied as she stood. "I'm going to go pee before the Captain turns off the light for that too, or can you make that flirtatious?"

"Ahhhh…probably not without it being really gross, but I'll think about it while you're gone," Maggie replied as she encouraged Alex's absence with one hand.

"Damn you're charming," Alex replied as she walked away. "How did I get so lucky?"

"The universe is full of mysteries!"

"And you're full of something!" Alex called back, but she was grinning broadly.

It was a little over twenty minutes before their military plane had landed, unloaded them and their SUV, and they were headed out. At Maggie's insistent call of 'local drives!' Alex was riding shotgun. Technically, the shotgun was in the hidden compartment with the rest of the good gear. Alex was in the passenger seat feeling greatly under-armed for a Sunday dinner with the family let alone an alien invasion.

"So, we're about four hours out now," Alex said as she looked at directions on her phone, a map sitting in her lap. "We'll continue east on I-80 until we meet up with I-77. We'll take that south to Blue Springs."

Maggie sighed. "I know. I am from around here you know."

"Yeah, but…" Alex paused, looking over at her fiancée and judging how to put this before continuing. "I wasn't sure you'd ever driven the route yourself."

"That's fair," Maggie said nodding, not having taken offense. "We did drive around a bit since there wasn't much to do locally. I was expected to pay attention and know my way around. Plus this is Oregon Trail country, you know. We were all about exploring. I was a junior adventurer."

"Yeah? Well, I was a…" Alex's voice cut off as she looked out the window.

"You were a what?" With a grin, Maggie asked, "Were you a girlscout?"

"For a bit," Alex admitted. "I did a lot of things until Kara came along and then…" Instead of finishing, Alex just shrugged.

"I'm going to ask Eliza for pictures."

"Hey, I'm going to go to your house and meet your parents as your fiancée. You better believe I'm going to see pictures."

"Oh, my God." Maggie's panic was palpable. "That's even worse than the alien invasion. Is it too late to call your friend Lucy and just have her drop a bomb on the place?"

"Yes," Alex replied. "We need to be brave heroes, go save some lives and all of that crap. So, how bad are these pictures if you're more concerned about them than you are about facing off against giant plant aliens?"

"I have two words for you," Maggie replied, raising a finger as she said each word. "Braces, bangs."

Laughing so hard that she had to hold her center, it took several moments before Alex managed to wheeze out, "I never thought I'd be grateful for an alien invasion. I love my job."

"Hardy-har-har." While Alex grabbed a water bottle from the cooler in the backseat, Maggie said, "I could have brought someone else as my fiancée. I could have done better."

"Please. Like who?" Alex asked as she opened the bottle.

With a shrug, Maggie said, "Vasquez. She'd have my back, can handle herself in a fight, and wouldn't ask to look at embarrassing childhood pictures. I should have brought Vasquez."

"Maybe," Alex admitted. "Vasquez might have your back, but would she have other parts of you?" Alex asked, squeezing Maggie's thigh.

"Babe," Maggie said slowly with a smirk, her dimples showing.

Rolling her eyes, Alex pulled her hand back. "Your ego is out of control. You think every woman wants to get into your pants." Shaking her head, she took several deep swallows of her water.

"You're right. Vasquez doesn't want to get into my pants," Maggie admitted. "She wants to get into your pants."

Explosive coughing ejected the water that Alex inhaled. It sprayed all over the inside of the SUV's windshield. Seconds later, the wipers flicked on uselessly. Clearly, in this instance, it was a design flaw that there were only windshield wipers on the outside of the car. Alex's choking continued uninhibited for close to half a minute, her hand on the dash, as her eyes watered profusely.

Finally, Alex managed to turn her head toward her fiancée and between wheezing breaths utter, "You…asshole."

Grinning, Maggie replied, "Love you too, babe."

Alex coughed a few more times, making sure her windpipe was completely clear. She closed her water bottle and rummaged around in the backseat until she found a t-shirt (one of Maggie's) to dry the window. When that was done, the agent began to examine her surroundings again.

"Okay, Chuckles, so what you and I don't really talk about is your family. You know mine, but I haven't heard much about the Sawyer clan. Care to give me a crash course for the next four hours?"

Exhaling slowly, Maggie nodded in a way that was obviously to herself. "Only because this could save your life. I'd prefer to keep this from you, you know?" When Alex's hand gently rested on her knee, Maggie just blinked before continuing. "So, with a last name like Sawyer, you can assume my dad is white. He'll tell you he's English, but we're Northern-European mutts on dad's side. My mom is Mexican. I have two older brothers, Franky and Ricky. My parents are Leticia and Charles."

"Okay, so Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer, Ricky and Franky. I've got it. Your brothers still live at home or at least in Blue Springs?"

With a shrug, Maggie replied, "Don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I haven't been in touch with any of them in almost twenty years. We're just assuming that this alien invasion thingy will keep me from getting run out of town again. It might not. Queer isn't popular in little hick towns in the mid-west."

With a grimace, Alex put her hand on Maggie's arm. "Honey, I'm sorry. I knew that but—"

"Save it, okay? I'm fine."

"I don't see how."

"Because it's been almost twenty years. Look, I don't have the relationship that you have with your mom and Kara, but I've made some amazing friends in my life. It's just…everyone is different. Hey, right now I'm glad they kicked my ass out. If they hadn't, I'd probably be stuck in that little town, and I'd be a plant person. The silver lining, am I right?" Maggie asked, grinning over at Alex for a moment.

"Uh, yeah I guess," Alex replied, but she studied Maggie to see how much was sincere and how much was the jokester she had gotten to know over the last year. "So, anyone else I should know?"

"My Aunt Teresa took me in when I was fourteen. She lived in California and had two daughters who were older than me. Maria went off to in college in Cali soon after I moved in, and Silvia had already moved off and had a job. It was actually my cousin Maria, well her and a friend of hers named Nutmegger who—"

"I'm sorry, Nutmegger, the girl's name was Nutmegger?"

"I wasn't her given name," Maggie clarified. "Her name was Meghan, but everyone called her Nutmegger. She was from California, but she was born in Connecticut and had lived there until she was twelve or so. Somehow being from Connecticut was relevant to the nickname. I wasn't really clear on why, but that was her name anyway. So Maria used to bring Nutmegger home for the weekends sometimes because Aunt Teresa's house was close to the school and Nutmegger's house was on the other end of the state. Nutmegger was this really pretty brunette and really stacked, you know? So yeah, fourteen-year-old me noticed. Nutmegger must have…will you stop snickering already?"

"I'm sorry," Alex replied, laughing. "Her name is Nutmegger. It's killing me."

"Sheesh. I thought you were the adult in this relationship."

"Me too," Alex admitted. "I think it's just the stress of meeting your family, the alien invasion, hoping your alien plant controlled family doesn't kill us. Yeah, I think I'm just tense and looking for an outlet. Damn. I really wish we'd had time for sex before we left."

Maggie sent Alex a sideways glance then cleared her throat. "Anyway, fourteen-year-old me wasn't as subtle as the me you have come to know and love now. Nutmegger…I hear that giggle, Danvers…anyway, she noticed me noticing and spoke to my cousin Maria. My aunt hadn't explained why I was there, just that there were problems at home, and I'd be staying at the house for a while, but Maria put two and two together and got queer. So Maria came and spoke to me."

"She asked if you were gay?"

Shaking her head, Maggie replied, "She didn't come out and ask me thank God. I'm sure I would have just denied it and fled. She said something about the world being made up of all different sorts of people who liked all different sorts of things and those differences being what makes us interesting and functional as a society. She said if we were all the same and we could all do the same things then society wouldn't work."

"That makes sense," Alex agreed.

"It does, but I had no idea what she was saying or why she was telling me this. I thought it was just some college girl wisdom from some class she was taking that she was handing down, so I sat quietly, nodded, and I listened. Then she told me something that had me tensing up. She said, 'For instance, I'm straight. Lots of girls find out they aren't when they go to college, but I know I am. I mean, I spend tons of time with Megs, and she even sleeps over with me. If you're gonna not be straight, you know it when you see Megs, right?'"

"She called her Megs? Can you just do that from now on?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah," Maggie replied waving a hand at her fiancée. "So anyway, I'm sure my eyes were as big as saucers when she said this. I was already trying to find a way out of the room, and it was my room. Then she said something that really got my attention and froze me where I was. She said, 'Plus, Megs is bisexual, and she's told me she thinks I'm really cute so if I wanted to, yeah I'm sure I could, but I'm just not curious. That's a shame right, 'cause Megs is hot.' Then she laughed while my mouth made like a venus fly trap. I was just lucky there were no flies in the room."

With a little laugh, Alex asked, "What did you say?"

"At first, nothing. It felt like I said nothing for like an hour, but it was probably a minute or two. When I finally found my voice or a piece of it at least, I asked her what bisexual meant."

"You didn't know what bisexual meant?"

"Not really. I didn't know the word. We didn't talk about stuff like that where I grew up, and I wasn't allowed to watch the types of TV shows where they'd use those words. Maria and Megs turned me onto shows that…well, more about that later. So Maria told me what bisexual meant. She told me there was nothing wrong with it, with liking boys, girls, or both. Honestly, I didn't really believe her at the time."

"No?"

"No. I mean, I'd been tossed out of my home, by my folks, for liking a girl. That had to be wrong, didn't it?" Maggie didn't pause when Alex's hand rested on her thigh. "Fourteen-year-old me was so lost. You're supposed to be able to trust your parents. They're supposed to protect you from the world, but my parents threw me away like they had to protect themselves, their world, from me. I thought I was wrong, like really deeply wrong. I thought I was diseased, maybe was a disease."

"You're amazing; you know that right?" Alex squeezed Maggie's thigh as she spoke, offering gentle comfort through the contact.

Maggie smiled back at Alex, but there was sorrow in her eyes. "Yeah, I do. So are you, babe."

They sat together for a minute or two, both grateful for what they had and mourning for a teenage girl's pain. If parents have one job in a child's life, one job above all others, it's to love unconditionally. From that job all other's sprout. Teaching, support, even handing down consequences when there are failings all stem from unconditional love. As soon as you draw a line and say 'I love you if' as opposed to 'I love you' then you've failed as a parent. You don't have to always like your children, but parents always need to love and support them. It isn't about who you, as parents, want them to be. It's about who they are.

Finally launching back into her story, Maggie said, "I guess Maria could tell I was struggling. She just gave me a hug and asked if I wanted to get some ice cream later. I didn't really respond, kind of mumbled something noncommittal. Later that night, after dinner, she and Megs took me for ice cream. That was the start of it."

"That start of what?"

"Operation adopt and educate little Maggie," Maggie said with a small chuckle. "Maria and Megs started coming home almost every weekend. We'd head down to the mall, or the beach and Megs would make little comments about cute girls like it was the most natural thing in the world. Megs wouldn't push me about it, just make comments and she and Maria would both talk about guys some, but it just felt good and natural. I got really comfortable around them both. I remember the first time Megs saw me checking out some girl and said something to me. She came up behind me, put her arms around me and whispered in my ear, 'Oh, good eye Little Sawyer. I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers, how about you?' Then she just giggled and walked away without looking at me, thank God, because I must have been red as a tomato."

"She called you Little Sawyer?

"Yeah, what about it?" Maggie asked.

"Nothing, go on." Alex grinned and leaned back in her seat pulling back her hand and drinking more of her water.

"I started to watch how people looked at each other, how they acted around each other. Sometimes it was obvious, you know, how animated someone would become when another person walked into a room. Sometimes it was subtle, the way a person's eyes would follow another person or just the language they'd use to describe someone else. Sometimes it wasn't even words, just body language. I wanted to see who else was like Megs, who else was like me. I wanted to feel less alone, and I started to learn so much."

"So you started detecting," Alex said with a smirk.

"I guess so," Maggie replied with a shrug. "I was just a kid trying to fit in, trying to find my tribe, and it wasn't so hard in California, you know? Once I started watching people, looking for their tells, the fear went away. Suddenly I wasn't alone. I became this big people watcher, and I learned a lot. Guys are much more overt, but women can be real subtle. Still, it's all there if you know what to look for. My people sense became really good, and my gaydar became this finely attuned machine that could spot a queer at a hundred feet." Holding out one finger, Maggie started to make little 'Beep, beep, beep.' noises that got faster as she turned her hand closer toward Alex.

"Stop that," Alex said, slapping Maggie's hand away.

Laughing, Maggie continued, "Anyway, Maria and Megs were like the best older sisters in the world to me. They turned me onto a few TV shows, and I totally lost it when Willow came out on Buffy. Man, I loved that show, that and Charmed."

"You liked supernatural weird shit?"

"With hot and powerful women, yeah," Maggie agreed. "Oh, and Sunday nights they'd stay late enough so that we could all watch X-Files at 9:00. I had such a thing for Gillian Anderson who played Agent Scully. She was smart, sexy, beautiful, had this troubled past, a gun, she…oh my God!"

"What!? What!?" Hand to where her sidearm would be if it wasn't stored away, Alex was looking around for trouble.

"Holy fuck, Alex," Maggie said, running her hand through her hair. "I had this thing for Gillian Anderson who played Agent Dana Scully the FBI agent in the X-Files who dealt with supernatural crap like aliens. Like I had a serious thing for her, really wanted to get with her."

"All right," Alex replied, eyes still wide as she looked at Maggie, but her eyes flashed about looking for whatever had caused the unexpected reaction from her fiancée.

"She was this seriously hot, sexy, tough, redheaded agent with a gun that dealt with aliens. Getting with her was like my teenage dream." Smiling over with deep dimples at Alex, Maggie said, "Agent Danvers, you're my Agent Scully. You made teenage Maggie's dreams come true."

Rolling her eyes, Alex exhaled heavily before leaning to the side and planting a kiss on Maggie's cheek. "Yeah? Well, you made my teenage dreams come true too, the ones I didn't even know I was having. Thanks for the wakeup call, Sawyer."

"Hey, I was lucky enough to have good people like my cousin and Nutmegger doing the heavy lifting for me to keep me from crawling back into the closet. All I really did was knock on yours. You came running out like gangbusters."

Alex nodded. She couldn't really deny it. As soon as Maggie had suggested she might be gay, Alex had denied it, but that little bit of pressure had burst the bubble, and she'd been unable to stop the tidal wave that had come after that.

"So, let me do a quick rundown of the family to make sure I have them all. Your parents are Charles and Leticia. You have two brothers, Ricky and Franky. When you were fourteen, you moved in with your Aunt Teresa. Whose sister was she?"

"My mother's," Maggie clarified. "She's one of my mother's older sisters. My mom is the baby, just like me."

"Okay, got it. Your Aunt Teresa has two daughters, Silvia who was the older one and Maria who was the younger one. How did I do?"

"You're really good at this, Danvers. If you don't watch it, the government is going to try and recruit you for something."

Alex snorted. "I'll watch out for them, though I do hear some girls go for hot government types with guns."

"Mmmm," Maggie agreed with a nod.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Not really. My town is small. We have an elementary school, but we have to bus out for a high school. Picture Little House on the Prairie with less charm and good feelings and more homophobia and racism."

"Little House on the Prairie?" Alex asked.

"You never watched that show?"

Alex shook her head.

"Ah, well, it was on my approved watch list. You were probably listening to devil music while I was watching it."

"Devil music? That's a joke, right?"

Looking at Alex out of the side of her eye, Maggie replied, "I was tossed out of my town, by my own parents, for being gay. Do you really think it's a joke?"

Sighing, Alex studied her hands for several moments before she said, "You know, I don't want to upset any more than you probably already are, but I think I really hate your parents."

"Babe, it's hardly fair to say something like that about people you haven't even met." Reaching over, Maggie placed her hand over Alex's that were folded together. "Just wait until you meet them. You'll have plenty of time and reasons to hate them then."

It was about four hours from the airport to Blue Springs. Unlike most trips, anxiety built the closer the duo got to their destination. The entire night had been the oddest shift, and this was saying something for people who had recently dealt with the Daxam invasion. They'd been out on a date, had ended up at the DEO, had run into Maggie's ex-best friend who had outed her for being gay but who was now alerting them to another alien invasion. This had set them onto the path of landing in North Platte, Nebraska a little after 3:00 AM Mountain Time. Now, at 7:23 AM, they were pulling into Maggie's home town.

It didn't look like what Alex had imagined. She wasn't really sure what she had imagined, but this wasn't it. This place looked…nice, like really nice. The lawns were all perfectly manicured; split level homes with living space over the garages seeming to be the norm. There were a few colonials along the way, but not many. It looked like the kind of place that should have sported a big welcome sign with the population underneath, but there'd only been a small green rectangular sign stating, 'Blue Springs.' Like the town itself, it was small enough that you could sneeze and miss it. Downtown was made of red brick buildings, stacked together side-by-side, and some were as tall four stories high. This was the first area Alex had seen traffic lights too.

"This looks…nice," Alex said cautiously. "Did it always look like this or—?"

"Yup. The place is a fucking time capsule," Maggie said, hands tight on the wheel and eyes straight forward.

"Oh." Alex wasn't sure how to respond. She'd wanted to hate the place. She'd wanted it to look awful and uninviting, but it didn't. It looked…nice. She sighed to herself really wishing she could get beyond that word. It was feeling entirely trite. "So, um, what's the Latina population like in this area?"

"It just rose by twenty-five percent."

"Excuse me?"

Glancing at Alex, Maggie said, "It's just my family. There are some Native Americans in the area, but they are the only other brown people around here. People used to ask me and my brothers if we were _Indians_. Eventually, my brothers went with it and made up names for each other. Let me see. I think Franky was 'Hung like moose' and Ricky was 'Stamina of oxen,' but it might have been the other way around."

"Heh, I think I'll like your brothers."

Maggie shrugged. "They're kind of assholes, but they're okay. I don't really know what they're like at this point. Man, I wonder if I have nieces and nephews."

While Maggie pondered that, Alex asked, "So, how long to your parents' house?"

"I don't think we're going to make it there."

"Car problems?"

"Local problems. We picked up a tail about a quarter of a mile back. The police have been following us."

Alex looked at her side view mirror, nodding at the police car behind them, then eyeing a few of the locals who had stepped outside to watch them as they drove by. "We certainly are getting a lot of attention. You plan to keep driving?"

"Unless he flashes his lights, yes. Right now we have no reason to pull over. I'm not sure if it would be better or worse for us to make it to my folk's house before we deal with the locals here. My folks will probably recognize me, so that's good in that they can vouch for who I am, but on the bad side of things my folks will probably recognize me." There was a familiar 'Woop, Woop' noise and Maggie said, "Well, there goes that decision. His lights just came on."

Maggie pulled the SUV over to the first open spot on the side. They didn't have to go very far. Traffic wasn't exactly bustling in downtown Blue Springs. She and Alex were left to wait for a few minutes until the middle-aged smiling cop stepped out of the black Ford behind them. He looked like someone's dad, maybe even a grandfather.

When he leaned on the side of the SUV, Maggie already had her license and registration in hand as she said, "Morning officer. Is there a problem? I wasn't speeding." She flashed her dimples and waited for the response.

The officer took her license, glancing at it for only a moment before his gaze returned to hers as he said, "You have California license plates and a California license. You aren't from around these parts, are you?" His head tilted sideways, and the smiled slid from his face.

"Actually, I am," Maggie clarified keeping her smile firmly in place even as her heart rate was definitely picking up. "I was born and bred right here in Blue Springs. I'm Maggie Sawyer, Chuck and Letty's daughter."

Head snapping back quickly, the cop replied, "Y'all are Chuck and Letty's little girl? Well, damn, I haven't seen you in I don't know how long." He looked at her license again, studying it for a moment before a smile formed on his lips again. "Look at that. It says it right here, Margarita Sawyer. Do your folks know you're coming into town Little Missy?"

"No Sir," Maggie said relaxing slightly now that it looked like she wasn't about to be killed immediately. She took back her license and registration. "My folks and I have kind of been out of touch for years. I was worried that…well, this is a surprise. I wanted to introduce them to someone important to me."

The cop's eyes shifted, focusing on Alex and the smile fell off his face. "Who's she now?"

Grabbing Alex's hand, Maggie brought it up to her face and kissed it, the ring plainly visible. "This is my fiancée, Alex. That's why we're here. I wanted to introduce my family to my family. I wanted my whole family home together."

"Family…home," the cop repeated while Alex and Maggie held their breath. Finally, a smile came to the cop's lips again as he said, "Well, any member of the Sawyer family is welcome here. Let's get you over to your folks. They're going to want to bring you over to the church."

"The church?" Maggie asked before she could stop herself.

"Of course," the cop replied casually. "You're getting married, ain't you?"

"Well yes but not today," Maggie agreed with a laugh.

"Still, you'll be doing it here. I'll follow you over to your folk's place. You remember the way, Little Missy?"

"Of course, Sir. I'll always remember the way home."

"Good to have you back among us," the cop replied as he patted the top of the SUV and walked away.

They watched him back to his car in their mirrors while Maggie rolled up her window.

"Jesus Christ, that was so fucking tense. When he looked over at me, I nearly popped the hidden compartment with my pistol in it. My hand has been on it the whole time," Alex said.

"Same here," Maggie agreed as she put the car into drive and pulled out. "If I wasn't handing over or taking back my license, I was preparing to shoot him."

"God I love you," Alex said enthusiastically. "Well, Blue Spring police seem nice even if they are vaguely creepy aliens. At least they aren't homophobic."

"Wymore police."

"Hmmm?"

"Blue Springs doesn't have their own police force. We're too small. We borrow cops from Wymore, the same place that has the post office also has the police force. We do have our own fire station here though."

Shaking her head, Alex commented, "You do know your town was smaller than my high school, right?"

"Yeah, I get that. Trust that the culture shock was awful when I moved out. However, if this thing has moved to Wymore, we're looking at more than a thousand more people that are infected. Are we sure the main plant is here in Blue Springs?"

"We're not," Alex sighed. "We know it landed here. Actually, we think it landed here. We know that trucks with smaller plants are being sent out from here, and Kara says that the large plant makes the smaller plant so…"

"Right, all roads lead to Blue Springs, and that was a sentence I never in a million years thought I would utter. Okay, so we start our search here. We better hope it ends here because I can't get us over the border into Wymore, at least, I don't think I can." Rubbing at her face, Maggie said, "One thing at a time."

"You know one more thing I realized?" Alex asked.

"What's that?"

"Your given name isn't Margaret; it's Margarita."

Sighing, Maggie replied, "It's not too late for me to tell that cop back there that you're not with me."

"Heh, heh. Right, so one way or another I'm taking that information to my grave. Point taken…Maggie."

Maggie made a left at the next light. With the police escort, they headed about four miles down the road then turned right. After less than a mile, they made a left onto Kestral Drive and then stopped a few houses down. Instead of pulling into the driveway, Maggie stopped in front of the house and just stared.

The house was light gray and white, larger than any they had seen in the area. It had a double attached garage and next to it another attached garage, an obvious add on by the design though it looked seamless. The driveway was several cars deep and flared out slightly near the street. It had a small window in the room over the garage, and several large windows: one in what was likely the living room, one over the front door, and another in a room to the left of the front door. More house was set back from the garage showing the depth of the home. The lawn was a plush green and immaculately kept with bushes and small trees along the front walkway. Larger trees showed over the back of the house.

Alex let out a long whistle. "Not bad, Sawyer. Am I marrying into money?"

With a snort, Maggie turned off the SUV and unlocked her seatbelt. "Let's just get this over with. If we're lucky, someone will kill us, and we won't have to make small talk."

"Optimist," Alex quipped as she got out of the SUV and followed Maggie up the path.

They both stopped in front of the door while Maggie rang the bell. They didn't have to wait long before a petite, black-haired woman appeared. Alex looked back between Maggie and the woman who was obviously Maggie's mom. Leticia had darker skin, a broader nose, curly hair, and she was older of course, but the family resemblance was immediate. Even if they hadn't been standing in front of Maggie's childhood home, these two would have looked like family.

"Hello?" Leticia said, more of a question, her eyes flashing back to the cop who stood behind them, obviously curious as to why there were strangers on her front steps.

"Mom, it's me; it's Maggie."

One eyebrow cropping up, the older woman said, "Margarita? Margarita, es usted, cariño?"

"Sí, soy yo, Mamá," Maggie said with a nod and a small smile.

A smile spread across Leticia's lips as deep dimples appeared in her cheeks making her look even more like her daughter. Then her head swiveled toward Alex, and that smile was gone in an instant. "I don't know you. You're a stranger."

"No, Mamá!" Maggie insisted, pulling Alex's hand up in front of her, making the ring apparent once again. "This is Alex, Alex Danvers. Alex is my fiancée, my family. I wanted to introduce her to you so all of my family could meet each other and we could all be home together."

"She's your family," Leticia repeated.

Maggie nodded.

"You're bringing her home."

Again, Maggie nodded.

Slowly, that smile grew back into place as Leticia transfixed Alex with her gaze and said, "Well then, we should bring you girls over to the church, don't you think, Luke?"

"That's just what I was saying, Letty," the cop agreed. "Is Chuck home?"

"Oh Chuck," Leticia said over her shoulder. "You need to come down here and see who's come home. Our daughter's here, and she's brought some more family for us to meet. It's a wonderful day."

As her mother's gaze fell back on her, Maggie failed to suppress a shudder. For years she'd wanted her mother to look at her again, to smile at her again, and now that it had happened she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Maggie spent many of her days in a police vehicle, but that was in the front seat. Sitting in the back seat behind Officer Luke, she was about as stressed out as she could be. Alex felt equally tense sitting beside her. They'd offered to drive themselves to the church, but at the words, 'I insist.' That idea was shot to hell. It was not without sad backward glances at the SUV, and the veritable armory hidden inside, that they walked to the police cruiser and climbed inside. There are two rules of a hostage situation: 1) Never get into a vehicle. 2) Never move to a secondary location. As a cop, Maggie knew these rules well. Maybe alien invasions had very different rules.

"So, what do you girls do for a living?" Luke asked, striking up a conversation on the short drive over to the church.

"Actually, I'm a cop," Maggie replied.

"Really." Luke smiled. "Well, that's great. We could use more cops here abouts."

"Oh, crime out of control in Blue Springs?" Maggie asked, not able to hold back the sarcasm.

Luke just smiled at her in the mirror, then shifted his gaze over to Alex. "And what about you?"

"Um…I'm a doctor."

"Oh." Luke's voice was flat and his smile much less bright. "Not much call for doctors around these parts. We're healthy folks."

"Oh, um…" Alex looked over at Maggie who shrugged at her, then gave a little head tilt, so Alex offered, "I'm also in the FBI."

"An FBI agent?" The smile grew on Luke's face. "Well, now that does sound useful. We got us a cop and an FBI agent in town. Ladies, welcome to Blue Springs."

With a little laugh, Alex said, "You know, people are usually uncomfortable when I tell them I'm with the FBI and more impressed when I tell them I'm a doctor. My mom will be disappointed about all that money she spent on med school."

"Hmmm. What's your mom do?"

"She's a doctor."

"Your dad?" Luke continued to prod.

"He's uh…he's dead," Alex replied, deciding that would be easiest as public records would verify that. "He was a doctor too though."

"Runs in the family. Brainy folks. Any siblings?"

"I have a sister Kara. She's a reporter before you ask."

"A reporter, well hey now, that's a useful profession. Reporters get out the news and control what gets out. We should talk to the reverend, but after you two get married, maybe we should invite this sister of yours down here right quick."

"That sounds like a great idea," Alex replied, except that it didn't. "She's away on assignment, but I'll let her know she's welcome to come by when she comes back."

"Sounds good." Officer Luke made a turn onto West Broad, and soon they stopped in front of the Blue Springs United Methodist Church.

It was a little white building, older looking than most that they'd seen. It had stained glass windows in front and a little display board that mentioned something about a 'Meat Raffle' happening on Saturday. There was a small tower, about three stories tall, over the front door, and something akin to Astroturf covered the front steps. Like every place they'd seen the lawn was perfect, and the bushes were neatly trimmed.

"Meat raffle?" Alex asked, pointing to the sign by the front of the church as they made their way to the front door.

"Yeah?"

"What the hell is a meat raffle?"

"It's something they do for charity. They buy several pounds of meat from a local butcher shop, probably at cost. Then they sell off a bunch of tickets. Whoever wins gets enough either to last them the winter or to have a big old barbecue for all of their friends and neighbors."

Stopping Maggie with a hand on her shoulder, Alex said, "Seriously, your church raffles off meat for charity?"

Maggie shrugged. "And you wonder how I became a vegan."

They followed Officer Luke into the church with Maggie's parents trailing behind. Luke called out and a man dressed as a pastor appeared.

"Reverend Dan, you remember little Maggie Sawyer don't you?" Luke asked, a hand on Maggie's shoulder. "She's back in town, and she's brought her fiancée with her. They're family, and they're both home."

Slowly nodding, the reverend said, "I remember Maggie. She's local. You're not from around here though," he added, pointing at Alex.

Grabbing Alex's hand, Maggie stepped so that she was side-by-side with Alex, her shoulder pressed firmly into her fiancée's arm. "She's my fiancée, my family. We're together."

"Maggie, don't. What's important is—"

"Shut up, Alex," Maggie hissed. "We're together. We're family. Alex and me, we're family. We go and do everything together."

"You two are family," the reverend said, considering the words.

"One hundred percent, definitely, and forever," Maggie replied pulling Alex's hand to her lips and holding their rings up for easy viewing.

"Well…family is important," the reverend replied. "I think we should welcome you home."

When Maggie's father clapped them on the shoulders both Alex and Maggie jumped. Alex looked up to see the man's smiling face. He was tall, over six feet tall, and his hair was blond where it wasn't gray. He had pale skin and blue eyes that matched the smile on his lips. He'd been charming once he'd gone through the initial and nearly identical reaction his wife had to their presence. Still, Maggie could barely meet his gaze and flinched at his touch even when it wasn't an ambush.

As the reverend left, Maggie's mother moved to stand directly behind Maggie. Her father slid, so he was standing more behind Alex. The girls looked at each other not exactly sure what was coming next but having a fairly decent idea. Still, when a four-foot tall plant shambles in through a side door, you jump back, and gasps of shock and phrases like 'Holy fuck!' are not entirely feigned.

As Maggie's mother's arms wrapped around her faster than any human could move, Maggie was shocked. "What the…!? I can't move!" She looked to her side to see Alex pinned and struggling against her father. Well, at least they wouldn't have to fake any of their panic and struggles. This was 100% real.

"Girls, humanity has been a plague on this planet and on each other for too long. We're about to save you from yourselves. You'll thank us," the reverend explained as a kicking and struggling Alex and Maggie were brought toward the plant that had made its way onto the altar.

"Don't do us any favors," Maggie said.

"Yeah, we like being plagued," Alex added.

Suddenly a spray of pollen hit Alex in the face, sending her into a coughing fit. Maggie got to watch while her father dropped Alex onto the floor like a bag of dirty laundry. The redhead choked and gasped, rolling as she struggled for air. Maggie reminded herself that was just what Jonesy looked like and he'd been fine, completely fine, so Alex would be too. Then breathing wasn't an option as yellow clouded her vision, and her lungs exploded. In retrospect, Maggie would realize her mother had dropped her to the floor, but at the time she was too busy clawing at her face and throat, desperately searching for oxygen. She flopped like a fish, pushing herself along the ground hoping that the next inch would bring her breathable air. It took time, effort, a lot of tears, and a near inhuman effort to keep from doing more than hacking up a lung and not actually puking before she was able to breathe again.

Turning her head, Maggie looked over at Alex's boots as her fiancée climbed to her feet. Somewhere along the way, her parents had switched places. Her mother, who only came up to Alex's chin, was standing in front of Alex. Maggie watched as Alex smiled at her mamá, at what should have been one of the most wonderful moments of her life, but right now was filling her with dread.

"Welcome home," Leticia said with her arms outstretched.

"It's good to be home," Alex replied and stepped into Leticia's embrace, holding the smaller woman tightly.

Strong hands gripped Maggie's upper arms, hauling her to her feet. She looked up nearly a foot at her father's smiling face as he held his arms wide open and said, "Welcome home."

Slowly, the smile spread across Maggie's face in return as she said, "It's good to be home." Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around her father's broad torso, burying her face in his shoulder.


	5. 5 - Recon on the Outskirts of Town

Alex and Maggie sat smiling in the back of Jake's police cruiser as he drove them back to their SUV. When they arrived at Maggie's parents' house, Maggie waved her folks inside and said she and Alex would be inside in a moment. They got back in the SUV and drove it into the garage with the open door, both still sporting broad smiles. Maggie popped the trunk so they could grab their bags from the back. They each walked around to their own side of the SUV toward the trunk area to get luggage.

At the far end of the vehicle, Maggie and Alex both suddenly found themselves staring down the barrel of a specially DEO engineered energy pistol. Hearts racing and panting slightly, they stared at each other from either side of the tail end of the SUV. Neither moved, just looked with narrowed eyes, the smiles that had been plastered to their faces since they rose from the plant gassing in the church now entirely gone.

Finally, Maggie spoke. "I'm not a plant. Uh…I'm not plant controlled I mean."

"Me neither," Alex agreed. "So, that's good."

Still, neither woman lowered their weapon.

"O-kay. So, how do we prove it?" Maggie asked.

"Well, if I were a plant, I would have turned you in at the church," Alex said.

Nodding, Maggie replied, "Good point. If I were a plant, I would have beaten the crap out of you instead of drawing on you." She wiggled around the weapon in her hand. "This is cool, and I hope I get to shoot someone with it, preferably a few of the kids I went to high school with, but I only have it on the first power setting right now because I don't want to hurt you. I love you."

Relaxing, Alex turning the pistol sideways so that Maggie could see the setting on hers. "Mine's on three. I love you too, but I'm not sure power level one would keep you down if you were controlled. You're tough as nails on a good day."

"You put yours on three? Alex!" Arms dropping to her sides, Maggie sighed loudly. "What if I weren't controlled? A three could kill a human."

"You're way too tough, babe," Alex said with a smile as she lowered her weapon completely, but she looked sheepish. "So, the good news is the vaccine is holding up to a live test. I'll want to do some more testing on our blood while we're here and run some air quality tests. I have more of the vaccine, and we might need to continue to do injections while we're in town. Normally a vaccine kills a virus, but this isn't a virus. The…let's just call it an infection for lack of a better term. It stayed active in the blood stream even after the vaccination. All we were really doing is bonding an immunity to it, coating it, you know?"

"Like little virus condoms?" When Alex made a face that Maggie was pretty sure she was mirroring, the detective said, "I'm so sorry I said that. Okay, well let's just get our gear moved in. Now that we're part of the collective, or whatever the hell we are, we should be able to move around and search this place, right?"

"That's the plan," Alex said as she unzipped a bag, slipped her pistol in, closed the bag and pulled it out of the SUV. "Any idea where we should start?"

Maggie stuck her pistol into her bag and began unloading the SUV as she said, "Kara said the big plant could move like the little ones, right?"

Alex nodded.

"Let's just start in the town. I'm thinking it would be somewhere secure and protected. So, wherever we're not welcome is the place to go."

"Right, we start poking around in this friendly town and find where people aren't friendly, maybe where someone tries to break our necks," Alex suggested as she pulled a bag onto her shoulder and grabbed a case from the SUV. "Is it going to be safe leaving things in the house?"

Maggie shrugged while shouldered her luggage. "We're trusted now so…yes? Anyway, it's not like a locked car will stop anyone. If they don't trust us, we're dead."

"Sobering thought."

They entered through a door into the kitchen. It was a large and bright room, the walls a crème color with dark, rich looking wooden cabinets with crown molding set throughout the room. The appliances were stainless steel, and surrounding the stove was actual brick that ran on either side and above it from floor to ceiling. The brick look extended to two archways, one above a room that led to what seemed to be the dining room, and another into the living room giving the kitchen an open and welcoming look, very bright and airy. There was a large center island with a butcher block top. Off to one side was a table with a marble surface, crème in color to match the walls with darker veins running through it and six chairs in wood that matched the cabinets and the thick wooden slabs in the floor.

Maggie's mom was puttering around, preparing food. There was quite the spread, dozens of doughnuts laid out on the island, and all four burners were going with skillets cooking. As Maggie and Alex entered, Leticia smiled up at them.

"You chicas must be hungry," the older woman said. "I'm making sweet potato hash with eggs and avocado crema and churro doughnuts."

Looking around at all the food, Maggie laughed a little bit and asked, "We expecting some company, Mamá?"

"No, just the four of us, Miel. Why do you ask?"

"Uh…" Eyes flicking over to Alex, Maggie worked to keep the smile on her face as she said, "Alex and I need to put our bags someplace. Where can we uh…?"

"Your room is still set up, Miel. You girls can stay in there."

"Oh, uh." Maggie nodded. "Thanks."

"Hey." Leticia stepped close, hugging Maggie abruptly as she said, "It's so good to have my baby home again. I've missed you."

"Yeah, um…it's good to be home. I've missed you too."

With a laugh, Leticia released her daughter. "You girls go settle in then come back down and grab food. I'm sure you're getting hungry. Oh, did you close the garage?"

"Uh…" Shaking her head, Maggie replied, "We didn't know how, but—"

"No worries. I'll take care of it, Miel. You just take care of each other."

Nodding, Maggie grabbed Alex's hand and practically dragged her through the house. The living room was sizable, a rectangle that ran along the side of the kitchen and the den at one length and had stairs on the other along with a closed door into some other room. An impressive fireplace with bricks that matched the kitchen and the archway was a focal point of the room. At each end there were tall windows, reaching wall to ceiling and allowing in ample lighting. The front showed the lawn and the back were sliders that led to an enormous deck set out and around an in ground pool. The carpet was mainly a light tan and almost looked like pieces of wood again, but it was soft and supple under the feet. In the center of the living room, the carpeting design changed to different colored brown rectangles. On its center were two large stumps of wood, finished and set apart as the base of a long oval of glass that served as the living room table. There was a couch and love seat in a dark brown, and two chairs in tan with a dark brown hexagon pattern on them. End tables with glass tops and wooden bases were placed about to match the décor. One wall sported a TV that must have been 70" and fit perfectly into a dark brown entertainment center along the length of the wall that held the fireplace. Built in covered cabinets were on the other side along with a built in couch set up in tan with dark wood. The lighting was set in along the entire ceiling making the room bright and cheery even where it ranged from the windows.

Though Alex's head swiveled left and right, both examining her new surroundings and taking note of escape routes and barriers in items to be used as a weapon in case combat broke out, her fiancée didn't slow as they quickly headed upstairs. Maggie's childhood bedroom was at the end of the hallway. The room was large, though that wasn't a surprise to Alex after what she'd seen in the house so far. However, it was a blend of pinks and purples with a large canopy bed. The bedspread was white and embroidered. There was also a fancy dust ruffle. The furniture looked high end, and there wasn't a hint of dust anywhere, but nothing in here said Maggie Sawyer.

Maggie tossed her bag on the hope chest at the foot of the bed, turning to find Alex still standing in the doorway. "What?" Maggie asked.

"This was your bedroom?"

"Well, yeah it…" Maggie looked around the room, eyes rolling as she sighed heavily. "Look, I was a kid, and I didn't get to decorate it myself. There was a severe lack of self-expression in my childhood. The first time I expressed myself…"

"I'm sorry," Alex said, dropping her bags on the floor as she engulfed Maggie in the hug, her teasing forgotten or at least put aside for now. "This must all be really hard for you."

"It's a fucking nightmare," Maggie muttered into Alex's shoulder. Patting her fiancée's back, she pushed away. "Close the door. We need to make a phone call."

"Okay."

Alex and Maggie moved the rest of Alex's bags into the room while Alex closed the door. Maggie pulled out her phone, going to her contacts and made a call. It was answered fairly quickly.

"Hey, Winn, I have a question for you. I'm going to put you on speaker. Alex is here with me. Hold on." Maggie put the phone on speaker then turned the volume down so Winn's voice wouldn't project as Alex gathered around the phone. "You hear me, Winn?"

"Yeah, are you guys safe?" Winn asked, the concern obvious even in his near whisper voice.

"We're good," Alex replied.

"Awesome," Winn replied. "Your SUV hasn't moved in like a half hour. I've been tracking the GPS on it. When you hadn't checked in, we got nervous. Kara's gone through like two dozen doughnuts."

Laughing, Alex said, "Sounds like you're describing a day that ends in a Y. Kara always goes through like two dozens doughnuts."

"I do not!" Kara's voice echoed across the DEO, and then Kara was heard much more clearly and close, "Alex, are you okay? Is Maggie with you?"

"Right here, Little Danvers. We're both fine. We got pollinated, and the vaccine held. I got a question for you, and it involves food."

"Oooh! That's my specialty," Kara replied.

"Good thing we got a subject matter expert there. The prisoners from Blue Springs, are they eating more than normal?" Maggie asked.

"Uh…maybe?" Kara replied. "They seem to like to eat."

"They're eating a lot," Winn clarified. "Kara can still out eat them, but their metabolisms are definitely elevated. Why what's up?"

"Crap." Maggie let out a long breath. "Nothing, just something we didn't account for when we came here. Are they protein packing by any chance?"

"Yeah, they seem to have a preference for protein. Is that relevant?" Winn asked.

Hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, Alex said, "Only if you're vegan. Look, we're good guys. We're going to try and blend in and locate the mother plant ASAP so we can get out of here before dinner time. Otherwise…well, we'll think of something."

"Just be safe, both of you," Kara said. "We love you guys."

"And we love you. We'll check in later on tonight," Alex said.

"Take it easy Alex, Mags," Winn said.

"Later," Maggie said, pushing the button to disconnect the line. "Well, now I really hate everything about this place. I'm not eating meat. You can tell your friend Lucy to drop a bomb on this place first."

"We'll figure something out. Let's just go do some recon. Maybe we can locate the mother plant before lunch, blow her up, and you can show me around town like a normal couple." When Maggie shook her head, Alex asked, "What's wrong now?"

"Don't worry about it," Maggie replied unzipping her bag and pulling out her pistol, then digging to the bottom until she found the shoulder harness. "Let's just find a giant, self-ambulating plant to blow up. That will definitely make me feel better."

"An ample supply of C-4? Who wouldn't that make feel better?" Alex said as she dug through her bag and geared up.

"Babe." Maggie watched Alex toss her jacket to the side and put on the holster, leather strapped in tightly before the pistol was shoved securely into place. "You are the hottest, sexiest, most dangerous woman I have ever met. I feel like I've been waiting my entire life for you. Let's go find an invasive alien life form, and blow it the fuck up."

"Babe." Stepping close, Alex pulled Maggie into her arms and kissed her before slackening her grip and saying, "Same."

Both armed and wearing leather jackets over their weapons, Alex and Maggie made their way back downstairs. As they headed through the kitchen, they found Maggie's mother still there.

"Mamá, we're heading out for a bit. I'm going to show Alex around town, reminisce a bit, okay?"

"Without anything to eat?" Leticia tsked as she shook her head. "You girls are too thin. You don't eat enough. Here." Pulling a Tupperware container out from one of the cabinets, she filled it with a dozen doughnuts and handed them over to Maggie. "This snack should hold you for a bit. Drop in a Scooter's while you're out and fuel up, or if you make it over to Wymore, stop in at the Doghouse. All the kids go there."

"Thanks, Mamá. We will."

"Oh, here," Leticia handed over a small black rectangle with three buttons on it. "This is for the garage. Use the one on the far end to open the garage you're using." Patting Maggie's cheek, Leticia said, "Be home for dinner, Miel. We've missed you."

Nodding as her lips twisted into an awkward semblance of a smile, Maggie took the controller and then Alex's hand as she headed into the garage. Sitting in the driver's seat of the SUV, the shorter woman blew out air before starting the SUV. Still, after close to a minute, they hadn't moved.

To break the tension, Alex said, "Miel?"

"Yes, Bebé?" Maggie replied, grinning at her girlfriend.

"I mean, what does Miel mean? Your mom keeps using the word. My Spanish isn't so good."

"No, Danvers, your Spanish sucks ass. Being able to order a Corona in a bar does not count as speaking Spanish."

"Ouch," Alex said slowly, her hand to her heart. "For the record, I can also order a Margarita and a shot of Cuervo."

Maggie chuckled. "You're practically bilingual."

"In the way that's important to me, yes, yes I am. So what does Miel mean?"

"It means honey," Maggie sighed. "She called me that since I was a little girl. She said it was because I was so sweet, and don't fucking laugh, Danvers."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"I'm not just the baby; I'm the baby girl. If my brothers are still in town, it could be…"

As Maggie's voice faltered and didn't seem likely to continue, Alex asked, "It could be what?"

"Never mind. Let's just find us a plant to blow up, then catch the red eye back to Cali where the girls are gayer, and the plants stay in the fucking ground."

"I second that."

There was a 'Beep' sound as Maggie hit the remote. The garage door opened. The SUV backed up and rolled out into the street as the couple made their way back into Blue Springs.

It was minutes later as they were driving down the road, and Maggie was still talking about her home town. "…and that's where Old Mr. Simpson and his dog Ellie lived, mean old coot…Mr. Simpson, not the dog," Maggie said pointing out yet another landmark that looked like pretty much everything else had to Alex, like nothing much. "Oh, and that's the stone wall that I tried to climb on a dare from my brothers, fell, broke my arm, and got fourteen stitches in my scalp. I thought my dad was gonna flay Ricky and Franky alive. Oh, and that's—"

"How old were you?"

"Hmmm?"

"How old were you when you fell off the stone wall?" Alex clarified. "That thing was pretty high."

"Oh, uh…" Maggie thought back. "It was the summer after second grade, I think, so I was seven…maybe eight. I think I was seven. I nearly made it too. I was up by the top of the wall when one of the stones came loose, and I fell. I guess the stone clocked me upside the head on its way down or maybe another one did. That's why I needed stitches."

"You could have been killed."

"But I wasn't," Maggie said with a big grin, pulling into a gravel driveway with a large building at the end. "We Sawyers have thick heads. Okay, so the mill building there was shut down even when I was here. I'm thinking that might be a good place to start," Maggie said pointing out a stone building that looked fairly dilapidated, much more so than any other part of the town they had yet to see.

"Huh. I'm surprised this place hasn't been restored," Alex said as she stepped out of the SUV and closed the door behind her. "The rest of the town is in such great shape. This place is kind of an eyesore, you know?"

"I think it has character. Sometimes newer isn't always better."

Eyeing her girlfriend and sensing she had hit a sore spot, Alex nodded. "You have some good childhood memories from here?"

"Mainly older kids came here to hang out, smoke and drink and stuff. I was too young for that stuff when I lived here. I was just getting interested in teen stuff when I was asked to leave the town." Pulling open a door whose hinges fought her and then cried out with rust, Maggie struggled until she got a body's width of an opening. "Well, if people, or whoever are here, they aren't using this door."

"Still worth checking out since we're here."

Alex and Maggie entered, pulling their weapons. They hit the lights on the tops of the pistols, illuminating the interior of the building. The ceiling was high, and spots of daylight came in from the occasional hole in the roof. There were several large rooms with old pieces of machinery which were obviously no longer in use. Outside of an impressive collection of beer bottles and cigarette butts, they didn't find anything else of interest.

Examining several bottles in different locations, Maggie wiped a fingertip along them all before replacing each one and finally standing. "Huh."

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"Everything's dusty."

Alex nodded. "You think they fired the maid?"

"Funny. No, I mean, I don't see anything that looks like any kids have been over here in the last week or two, maybe month. Teenagers used to hang out over here at night and definitely on the weekends. These bottles are recent, like last couple of months recent, but not this month."

"Maybe the sheriff started cracking down?" Alex suggested.

"Maybe," Maggie allowed. "I doubt it though. We don't have a skate park, an arcade, or even a mall. We don't have anything for kids to do around here. The only thing teenagers have to do are the church group and hang out here. You take this away from them and—"

"They all go to church group?"

Looking at Alex's grin, Maggie asked, "What's with you and the jokes?"

"Sorry."

"No problem. This whole town makes me nervous too. The other hobbies we had around here were petty crimes and vandalism. The cops knew that even as crappy as this place was, it at least kept kids out of worse trouble, and the historical society was up in arms about the relevance of an over hundred and fifty-year-old building. The mayor and city council called it an eye sore and danger though…which was bullshit."

Sensing some underlying story, Alex followed her back toward the entrance and asked, "What was it really about?"

"Money. If they wanted this place to be safer, they could have just invested to fix this place up or even given teens a place to hang out. Rich fuckers wanted to get richer. They've been letting this place get run down since I was a kid. It looks even worse now. When the roof collapses in it will become a public safety hazard, and they'll be able to tear it down. The land will go back to the city which will control who buys it," Maggie said as she stepped back into the daylight and headed toward the SUV.

"You sound pissed," Alex noted, as she headed back to the SUV. "You have some problems with the city council or the mayor back when you lived here?"

Taking a deep breath, Maggie didn't answer for several moments. Finally, she yanked open the door to the SUV and replied, "You could say that. We have some…history."

"The kind of history that's going to be a problem?"

Maggie climbed into the driver's seat, shaking her head as she started up the vehicle. "Not so long as we're all sucking down kumbayah spores. Once everyone's minds are cleared, yeah, I think we'll have a problem."

As Maggie threw the SUV into reverse, making eye contact with the mirror, Alex said, "We're not planning to stay around then, are we?"

"Nope," Maggie replied, making the 'P' really pop as she said it.

"Well, okay. So where to now?"

"We're assuming this thing hasn't moved into a private residence right?"

"God, I hope so," Alex said as Maggie pulled onto the main road but didn't move forward. "I don't think we can manage a door to door search."

"Right. We can't exactly go around with a list and say, "Ding-a-ling. We're here selling Queer Scout Cookies. We've got a 50% off special if you've got a giant, mind-controlling, alien plant in your basement."

Alex chuckled. "Hey if that would work, we could just make a scavenger hunt list, put the plant on it, hand it out at the local elementary school, and offer fifty pounds of gummy worms as the prize."

Alex and Maggie's gaze met for several seconds before they both shook their heads and mumbled, "Bad idea," and "That wouldn't work…probably. Might get us killed."

"So, where are we going Queer Scout leader?"

"You should see my badges. Queer's Scout honor," Maggie said, holding up three fingers, her pinky held down by her thumb while she grinned broadly.

"Quit it," Alex said slapping lightly at Maggie's hand. "What's our next stop on the alien hunt?"

"Okay, so avoiding residences and looking at businesses on the outskirts of town, there's the self-storage place over on 2nd street, the Tree Farm over on one of the Walnut streets, and the Crate and Pallet place which is…I think I can find it."

"You think?"

Throwing the vehicle into drive, Maggie shrugged. "I'm not even sure everything still exists, and that new places haven't cropped up. This place is small enough that businesses here don't exactly bother with a web presence. My research on the plane ride down found Jack and Shit and Jack was away on vacation. Like I said; we're in a time capsule. Welcome to the twentieth century, Agent Danvers."

They headed north and ended up at J&G Self Storage which spread across 2nd and A streets. Maggie pulled into the entrance at A, and 4th street then continued to the office which was down near 3rd street.

As the engine idled, Alex looked further down at the row of storage units and said, "Crap, this thing is like two city blocks long."

"Sure is."

"There must be like a hundred units here," Alex noted. "How are we going to search like a hundred units with no one noticing?"

Turning off the SUV, Maggie looked over at Alex and flashed her dimples as she said, "We hope Rory is working today."

"Who's…?" As Maggie got out and closed the door, Alex was forced to follow to ask, "Who's Rory?"

"Rory is Jay's son. Jay is the J in J&G Storage," Maggie replied pointing up to the sign with the business' names. "Rory was the sweetest kid when we went to school together, but not a bright boy. He got held back, so he was older than everyone else in our class, but that wasn't the only reason he was the biggest. Rory was just a big kid. He was pretty much the right side of the Raiders defensive and offensive line."

"He played for the Oakland Raiders?"

Stopping, Maggie stepped forward and kissed Alex suddenly. Stepping back she said, "You're perfect. I love that you know crap about football. I've dated girls that didn't know where the Raiders were from."

"We live in California."

"I'm just as appalled as you are," Maggie replied. "So, our school team was called the Raiders and Rory…well; you'll know it when you see him. Come on."

A bell rang on the door as the two women entered. In a chair behind the desk sat a man with red hair and a bushy red beard. He was doing something on his phone but looked up when the two women entered. He stood up…and up…and up. He must have been 6' 8" tall and close to 300 pounds. A lot of that was muscle.

"Who are you?" The man asked in a booming bass voice.

"Rory!" Maggie said with a broad smile.

"No, I'm Rory."

"Rory hasn't changed a lick," Maggie said as she looked over her shoulder at Alex. Turning back to the redheaded man, Maggie grinned again and explained, "Rory, it's me, Maggie Sawyer. Remember me? We went to school together?"

As his eyebrows creased in concentration, Rory repeated, "Maggie…Sawyer?"

Maggie nodded.

Suddenly, Rory's face broke into a smile that brought about an instant charm to him. "Maggie!" He stepped forward, engulfing Maggie in an embrace that consumed her as he lifted the much smaller woman off the ground and said, "Welcome home!"

Alex took several quick steps back, her hand on her weapon under her jacket even as she heard Maggie mumble something which could have been 'It's good to be home.' or could any other number of things.

As Rory dropped Maggie back to her feet, he looked over at Alex, and his face darkened again as he said, "Who are you?"

A hand in the middle of Rory's chest, so right about face level, Maggie said, "Rory, this is Alex Danvers. Alex is my fiancée. She's with me. We're family. We saw Pastor Dan at the church earlier today."

"Oh." Smiling, Rory's shifted again, and he held out his arms toward Alex. "Welcome home, Alex."

Maggie patted Rory's chest, then looking at the obvious apprehension on Alex's face said, "Alex, looks like Rory wants to hug you and welcome you home."

"Right," Alex said with a tremble in her voice. "Lucky me."

Rory stepped past Maggie when she moved and embraced Alex saying, "Welcome home."

"Ugh. It's good to be home," Alex said into Rory's shoulder, her voice sounding like it was being squeezed out of her. "Wow, you're a big boy, Rory. You're sure you didn't play in the NFL?"

"No," he replied with a laugh, still smiling as he released Alex. "I wasn't smart enough for college. You girls need a storage unit?"

"Actually, maybe you can answer some questions for us, Rory," Maggie said.

"I don't think so," Rory replied.

"It's about the storage units."

"Oh, I know a lot about the storage units. Do you want to know how big a single or a double is? Do you want to know about heated storage? I know all the prices too," Rory offered with a smile as he walked behind the desk and grabbed a clipboard.

Leaping onto a seated position on the desk, Maggie replied, "Actually, we have lots of questions about the storage units, lots of complicated questions, right Alex?"

"Um, yeah, really complicated and complex questions, Maggie," Alex agreed.

"Oh." Rory looked down at his list as he slumped down into his chair and slowly said, "Hard questions."

"Hey, maybe they don't have to be. Maybe we can just answer them ourselves…with your help of course," Maggie suggested with a smile.

Rory looked up into Maggie's face, her dimples present and smile seemingly sincere, then over at Alex who stood with hands on hips swaying slightly, a small smile on her face as she emitted confidence. She began to nod as Rory said, "I could help."

"Great, great, Rory," Maggie replied jumping off the desk and clapping the man on the shoulder. "Do you have your rental listings in a computer or just on paper?"

Rory pointed at the monitor in front of him. "They're in there, but I just use the paper, and my pa puts them in the computer later, so I don't mess it up 'cause of me being a screw-up."

"You're not a screw-up, Rory," Maggie said, one hand on the man's cheek even as her eyes were on the monitor. "Does your pa use any kind of special password to get into the computer?"

"Sure," Rory said opening a drawer and pulling out a notebook. He flipped through to the third page. It was filled with a list of words. "His security system makes him change it all the time, so he has to write it down."

Maggie grinned over at Alex as she said, "That looks pretty secure. Smart thinking."

"That's my pa," Rory agreed.

"Hey Rory, do you think you could show me some of the units," Alex asked. "I could use a tour of this place, and I bet you're great at it."

"I sure am," Rory said enthusiastically as he dropped the notebook back into the open drawer and walked around the desk. "Maggie, want to come with us?"

"Nah, I need to check some work emails," she replied holding up her cell phone. "I'm just going to wait here for you guys to come back, okay?"

"Okay, Maggie."

"Well, Rory and I are going to look in all of the empty rentals so we can see which one we want for our stuff, sweetheart," Alex said with a very pointed look.

Maggie nodded back, waiting until the duo had left before grabbing the notebook, entering the password, and getting into the system. She was happy to see it had a complete list of the rentals, who rented them, and the dates they'd been rented. She was able to print it out so she'd have a complete list of all of the units to compare against the ones Alex marked as empty. She was also able to print a map. She crossed off the ones rented by locals years ago. There wasn't anything listed as rented in the past year. She was done and packed away within an hour, so she decided to snoop on the system a bit, trusting that Alex would warn her of Rory's return.

Over an hour later, Maggie received a text saying that she and Rory were on their way back. Maggie shut down the programs that were running and made her way to one of the chairs in the office. She was sitting and playing with her cell phone when the duo returned.

Alex was laughing, her hand on Rory's arm as they came into the office. "How did you get all those cows into the classroom?"

Rory looked thoughtful for a moment, then he said, "Very carefully. Man, cows sure do poop a lot." That just made Alex laugh more. "Hey, Maggie, I was just telling your girl about the senior prank. You missed it. Why did you miss it? Where did you go?"

Inhaling a bit too sharply as a feeling like ice crept up her spine, Maggie took a moment to steel herself before she replied, "I moved to a new school."

"Oh, was it nice?"

She nodded. At least that she could answer truthfully. Thinking about the new school, kids with colors not found in nature in their hair, girls holding the hands of girls in the hallway, it was a whole new world for her. People there accepted her long before she accepted herself. It was an important part of her journey toward healing. It was an important part of her journey toward Maggie.

With a real smile, Maggie replied, "It was really nice."

"That's good," Rory replied. "You deserve nice."

Throwing an impromptu hug around Rory's torso, Maggie replied, "So do you, big guy."

Engulfing Maggie in her second hug of the day, Rory just laughed.

Sitting outside in the SUV, Alex wasted no time checking in with her fiancée. "You okay? It seemed like Rory was a good guy but, uh—"

With a quick subject change, Maggie replied, "Rory's the best. As big as he was, he never fought for himself in school, and he got bullied a lot. I got into so many fights defending him."

"Little Maggie Sawyer, fighting in school? I bet you were fierce. You get into a lot of trouble in school?" Alex asked.

"Nah, I was silicon. Nothing stuck back then." Clearing her throat, Maggie said, "So besides the glory days, what else did you and Rory talk about?"

"Stuff, the town," Alex replied with a shrug. "He thinks you're pretty great, but then again he seems to like everyone so can't really trust his taste. He even thinks the mayor walks on water."

"He mentioned the mayor?" Maggie asked stiffening. "What did he say?"

"Just that he has the town's best interest at heart, though I think Rory may have said that the mayor was the best or something like that. You okay, hun?"

"Me? Sure. You okay after your Rory hug?"

"Yeah," Alex replied as she smiled and rubbed her chest with one hand. "When this is all done, we should get my sister down here. I bet Rory is a big Supergirl fan. I bet he'd like a hug."

Maggie laughed as she pulled out her list of rentals and then her cellphone, showing the list of empty units Alex had sent her. "Okay, so here are all the rentals in the system. Nothing is new, all a year or more over."

Grabbing a pen from a hollow in the dash, Alex said, "So we just check them off and see if we have a locked unit that isn't on the list?"

"That's my thought."

"You find anything else good on the computer while Rory was recounting everything about his glory days? I'm assuming your cop instincts made you keep poking round."

"Good assumption," Maggie said, handing over her cell phone. "Read this to me. It will go faster." As Alex took the phone and began to read off unit numbers, Maggie crossed off the empties and said, "Just an impressive collection of furry porn."

"What the hell is furry porn? Unit 19."

"People doing it dressed up in animal costumes, and not realistic ones either. They look like rentals from costume stores." Maggie sat waiting for the next unit number, then looked up to see Alex staring at her.

"That's a thing? Like, that's a real thing people do? You can find that on the internet?"

Laughing, Maggie leaned over to kiss Alex who recoiled slightly, making the process more difficult. "Babe, I love that you know the names of dozens of alien races, their home planets, their special abilities, how to subdue them, you can subdue them, and yet things like what kind of porn is on the internet still shocks you. Your high school and college experiences were so different than everyone else's, weren't they?"

Raising her eyebrows, Alex replied, "I was helping to raise my alien sister, then I got my Ph.D. in my early twenties so, I guess so."

Dimples showing again, Maggie replied, "Hot. More sexy talk later. Right now, just read me the unit numbers."

When all the unit numbers were read off, they were left staring at a map showing no units either rented or marked off as checked. It was both satisfying in that they'd marked off another property and yet unsatisfying because they hadn't found anything positive. They were narrowing down their options in a rather large search pool considering they were a team of two with a limited search time.

"No chance you missed any units? I texted you all the locked ones too just to be sure. They were all on your list?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah, they were. Fuck. Okay, well, let's move on. The crate and pallet place should be faster."

It was. They drove north and ended up on North Saunders Street. After the same lack of recognition and hostility, they were greeted warmly by the owner once they explained who they were. They were given free rein to wander through the area. It proved fruitless, so they moved onto the last business on the outskirts of town.

As she closed the door on the SUV, Alex looked at the sign. "Pinecrest Tree Farm. Huh, I've never actually see a tree farm. What does one look like?"

Gesturing at the row after row evergreen trees that stretched across the acres, Maggie replied, "A neatly planted forest."

"Oh, fuck me."

"After we get out of this B-movie, babe. Come on. Let's go introduce ourselves, so the owners don't rip our heads off."

Introductions went well as usual, and Alex and Maggie spent the next few hours wandering through the groomed forest. The trees were laid out in an orderly fashion, and different sections were different sizes. The sun had moved across the skies when they declared their search fruitless and moved back to their vehicle.

Yawning, Maggie said, "Okay, my feet officially hurt. I feel like a rookie beat cop again."

"Are you tired?"

"Yeah. I should have gotten some sleep last night but…" She shrugged, her voice fading out.

"You need to head back to the house and grab a nap?" Alex asked.

"Nah, I'm good so long as the sun stays up. I expect I'll be out like a light tonight." When Alex's stomach growled loudly, she added. "Sounds like someone is hungry though. Here, have a churro doughnut."

Taking one from the Tupperware container that Maggie held out, Alex took a bite and instantly moaned happily. "Mmmm. Damn, these are good. Kara would love these. Wait, is there rum in this?"

Smiling, Maggie nodded. "Mamá uses rum in hers."

"God bless her," Alex said around another bite. "This may be the perfect breakfast food. Are you having one?"

"Nope. There's milk and butter in them. There's a farmer's co-op in town though. I'd like to hit that up and get some actual food. Sound good?"

"Sure. Wait!" Alex said grabbing a second doughnut when Maggie tried to put the lid back on the container.

"You know, those will go straight to your ass."

"I don't care. If I'm not getting laid while we're here, I'm eating doughnuts made with rum. A girl needs something to look forward to. Is there a liquor store in town?"

"Nope," Maggie replied with a grin.

"Don't fuck with me, Sawyer."

"I'm not, not literally or figuratively. If you want a drink, you go to The Doghouse, or you head to the grocery store and buy something for the house. They're both in Wymore 'cause this is a dry town technically. Of course, you can't do that on the Lord's Day."

"The Lord's Day?"

Maggie nodded. "Sunday. Sunday is for worship and good work. There's no drinking on the Lord's Day. You can't buy spirits, and the bar is closed."

"What the actual fuck!" Alex waited several seconds to see if Maggie would break, to see if this would all be a joke, but when her fiancée just nodded seriously, Alex said, "Drive, just drive. Let's find this plant and blow it up so we can get home. I need to get back to civilization."

"You mean someplace where the bars are open seven days a week?" Maggie asked as she threw the SUV into drive and pulled out onto the road.

"That is the fucking definition of civilization," Alex replied with a grave nod.


	6. 6 -John Deere Green

Heading into the main section of town, Maggie and Alex parked and stopped in at the businesses on East Broad Street. People became welcoming once Maggie explained who they both were. They were allowed to look around, and as these were just local storefronts looking didn't take long. Still, it was a few city blocks worth of looking. Alex suggested they divide up, but Maggie was concerned that Alex not being a native to the town could get her killed. It wasn't worth dying to cover ground more quickly.

"Is it just me or was that weird?" Alex said as she and Maggie stepped out of Maxson's Barber and Beauty Shop.

"That haircut?" Maggie nodded quickly. "I told you. We're in a time capsule. I don't think bell bottom jeans have come into fashion for the first time here yet."

"Enough funny guy. No, I mean that was like the fifth person to tell us to say hello to the mayor. Is that weird or—"

"They just say that around here. It's like local idiomatic speech I guess. I had a friend who was Irish, and she used to give directions for how to do stuff and then say, 'And then Bob's your Uncle.'"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I think it is supposed to mean that the rest is intuitive, but it was just weird," Maggie explained. "Language is weird when you don't grow up with it. Like, 'Oh, for cute!' We say that around here."

Shaking her head, Alex shrugged. "I don't get it."

"It's just a way of saying how incredibly cute something is. Like us, people would see us as a couple and say, 'Oh, for cute' because we're freaking adorable together."

"But…but…we just moved like a few hundred miles east," Alex argued.

"Into a bubble in time," Maggie said, wiggling her fingers in the air. Slapping Alex in the arm, Maggie pointed across the street. "It's getting close to dinner time and I'm starving. I didn't fill up on my mamá's churro doughnuts. Let's go hit the co-op."

The Farmer's Cooperative was on West Broad Street, another one of the stores along the main strip. When Alex and Maggie entered, there weren't a lot of people there, and the vegetables looked pretty picked over. A woman with reddish-brown skin and a formidable nose stood with a basket over her arm as she searched through some bruised peaches. Her long black hair was in a ponytail under a woven looking cowboy hat. The band was leather with a silver buckle on it. She eyed Maggie and Alex cautiously but didn't say anything.

From behind the counter, a Caucasian woman strode forward with a clear plastic bag with something green inside. "Here you go, Sue. They came in with this morning's shipment and…" Eyes narrowing on Maggie and Alex, the new woman stepped out and challenged, "I don't know you."

Speaking quickly and with practiced ease, Maggie said, "Maggie Sawyer, I'm Chuck and Letty's youngest, and this is my fiancée, Alex. We've been to the church and visited Pastor Dan who welcomed us home. We're family." Opening her arms, she smiled as she strode toward the woman.

"Oh." Arms wide the woman smiled and hugged Maggie, giving and receiving the usual greeting and then repeating it with Alex. Turning back to Maggie she commented, "Haven't seen you since you were a little kid. Where'd you get to?"

"Uh, moved out of state for school. Hey, there are no prices on anything. How much are the apples?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, whatever you want to pay," the woman replied. "We're all family here. We take care of each other."

"Right, right, of course," Maggie said as she stepped away. "I'll let you get back to…Sue." She gestured to the other woman.

Maggie and Alex began to put some fruit and vegetables into bags, finding some of the better options and dropping twenty dollars on the counter. As they stepped outside, they saw Sue several stores away and walking in the same direction that their vehicle was parked.

"You notice Sue didn't challenge us when we came in the store?" Maggie asked as she took a bite of an apple.

"I did," Alex agreed as she walked alongside the smaller woman. "I think that's the first time someone has let us get by without challenging us unless someone else in the room has done it first."

"Yeah." Maggie took another bite, chewing. "Seems odd. Doesn't seem like a family thing to do around these parts."

"Do you know Sue?"

"Sue Smith," Maggie replied. "She was a few years older than me in school, but there's a small enough Native American population around these parts that they're memorable. I think there were maybe a half dozen kids in school with me and my brothers, well, elementary school. High school included the Wymore folks, but I think they have even fewer Native Americans there than we do."

"Really?" Alex asked as they tailed Sue.

"Oh, yeah. Blue Springs is a cornucopia of diversity," Maggie replied as she took another bite of her apple. "They did have a few other brown people over in Wymore."

"So you blended in there," Alex said with a grin.

Maggie chuckled. "The great American melting pot."

Maggie and Alex made it all the way back to the SUV, still a good twenty feet behind Sue. Maggie started up the vehicle, and they pulled out, catching up to Sue easily. They drove alongside her, watching her and watching as she watched them. She'd turn her head from time to time; then she began to walk more quickly in her haste to get away.

"That's damn suspicious," Alex said. As Maggie nodded, Alex rolled down the window. "Hey, Sue, you seem to be in a hurry. Can we give you a lift?"

"Uh, no, no thank you. I like walking," Sue replied as she continued forward.

As they reached the corner, Maggie turned the SUV in front of the street blocking Sue's path.

Alex stepped out of the vehicle and said, "Who doesn't like walking? We're all family here, though, and family helps each other out." Opening the back door, Alex smiled and said, "Get in, Sue."

Holding her bag close to her chest, Sue swallowed hard and nodded.

Before she could move into the SUV, a jeep came from the opposite side of the street. It came around the corner and stopped across from the SUV. There were two men in it, one older than Sue and one looking like a teen, but a mature one. The teen was in the passenger's seat, and he had a shotgun in his hands.

"Come on Sue," the driver called out.

"My ride's here," Sue said to Alex as she hurried across to the jeep, jumping into the back.

Maggie and Alex watched as the jeep and its people drove off.

As Alex climbed back in, Maggie said, "Shotgun."

"Yeah, I saw," Alex replied. "I haven't seen another weapon here. Based on the intel we have, the folks here hit harder than a shotgun. So…"

"So we got three folks in a jeep who aren't infected," Maggie finished as Alex trailed off. "You want to follow them?"

"They still have a shotgun, and I don't think they realize the same thing about us that we realize about them. You know where they live?"

"No, but I'm sure I can find out. I...know people."

"Like Officer Luke?" Alex asked.

Maggie looked sideways at Alex, then tossed the SUV into drive and headed down the street. "Come on. Let's check out a few more places while we have a little bit of sunlight left. We've ruled out quite a few of…" Slamming on the brakes, Maggie put the vehicle into park and stepped out into the street.

"Maggie?" Getting out after her fiancée, Alex walked around and said, "Maggie, what's wrong?"

"It's a post office."

Looking at the building at which Maggie was pointing, Alex nodded. "Okay, it's a post office. Do you think the thing is in there?"

"No, I mean, this used to be residential housing, and now it's a post office. They tore down people's houses and put up a post office."

"Uh…maybe people just sold their houses. You said you needed a post office, right?"

Spinning on Alex, Maggie snapped, "No, I said we didn't have a post office because it was a fucking five-minute drive to Wymore to mail a package! They ripped down people's houses to—!"

"Whoa, whoa" Grabbing Maggie and pulling her close, Alex looked around to make sure they weren't overheard. "Babe, chill. We're all one big happy family here, remember? I know you're upset, but you can't act it. Now get back in the car." When they got back in and closed the doors, Alex turned on the radio, finding a station with some music and turning up the volume. "Now, what's got you all upset?"

"The city council tore down residential housing to build a post office we didn't need. This is bull shit, Alex!"

"I thought you did need a post office."

"No!"

"Shhh."

"No," Maggie repeated at a more normal register. "Some of those houses were close to a hundred years old. I bet they got torn down just short of that mark, too. What we need is people who care about decent and affordable housing, about the people who live here more than about not having to drive three extra minutes to get to Wymore."

"Okay. Come here," Alex said, pulling Maggie into a hug. "I've got you."

After about two minutes of calming down, Maggie sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry. I'm overreacting. This place makes me feel like a kid again. I feel powerless when I'm here and…crap."

"Being surrounded by alien infected super people isn't helping, is it?"

"Not really," Maggie admitted with a laugh as she sat back. "You seem pretty chill about it."

"Oh, I'm nervous as all hell. Being nervous doesn't mean we don't power through it. I remember my first mission with the DEO, how scared I was, and the one thing that got me through it."

"Was it boobs? Boobs have gotten me through a lot of rough times."

Alex snickered. "No. Had I realized at the time…" Clearing her throat, she continued smiling as she said, "It was the team. I never would have made it if I'd had to go it alone. No matter how scared I was, I knew people had my back, and I knew I couldn't let them down." Reaching across to take Maggie's hand in hers, Alex said, "I've got your back. We're a team, you and I, and you'll never, ever, be alone again."

Smiling broadly, Maggie tugged Alex close again. "Come here. Mmmm. Can I tell you a secret?"

"You can tell me anything. I hope you know that."

"You're even better than boobs."

With a chuckle, Alex said, "Even better than boobs? Wow. From Maggie Sawyer, that's high praise indeed. Can I tell you a secret?"

"Please. I can be trusted. I mean, I'm not a government black ops secret agent or something, but I'm pretty trustworthy."

"You're completely trustworthy," Alex agreed. "Don't tell anyone, but I've got boobs."

Maggie gasped. "Prove it!"

Laughing, Alex pressed a kiss into Maggie's temple. "I thought you were worried we were stuck in an old B-horror movie and the couple having sex always dies, and so does the cop. You're the cop."

"It's true," Maggie said. "But something even truer is that some things are worth dying for. You, us, we're worth dying for." When Alex leaned back and just stared at her with raised eyebrow, Maggie added, "Yeah, yeah, we're also worth living for. Anyway, if I'm dying, it's not going to be in Blue Springs. You can take me back to National City and screw me to death."

"Deal!" Alex said with a sharp laugh as she pressed another kiss to Maggie's forehead. "So, where to now?"

"Now? Well, now we check the rest of the stores on this strip and ask around to see if there are any other properties we've missed. How does that sound?"

"Heavenly," Alex replied with obvious sarcasm, leaning back into her seat as Maggie started the vehicle. "I'm going to text home with this latest update. If we've got other non-infected people here, this is huge."

Maggie nodded while Alex pulled out her phone and sent a text.

Alex: "Checking in. We have an update."

The response was almost immediate.

Winn: "Your winsome friend here. What update do you have?"

Alex: "We just found three other people who don't seem to be infected."

Winn: "Holy cripes! That's big news, Alex. What did they say?"

Alex: "We didn't get a chance to talk. Two showed up with shotguns, and the first left. They don't know we aren't infected."

Alex: "We're going to finish our search of the town and try and find where they live, then follow up with them."

Winn: "Okay. Cool. How are things there?"

Alex glanced over at Maggie.

Alex: "Fine. Anything to report there?"

Winn: "Alex, this is Kara. Are you okay? We're worried about you."

"Crap."

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked.

"Kara has Winn's phone and she's worried."

"Oh." Maggie nodded. "Tell her we're fine here. Tell her the food is good and…no, don't tell her that. It will just give her another excuse to show up. Tell her the air quality may not be safe, but we are. Just…you know."

"I know," Alex agreed.

Alex: "Things are moving ahead well here. We've ruled out much of the town. I'm sure we'll find it soon. The people have accepted us, and we're in no danger."

Alex: "Under no circumstances should you or J'onn show up. We're still running air quality tests for pollen levels. Do you understand me, Kara?"

Drumming her fingers, Alex waited for her sister to respond.

Alex: "Kara, tell me you understand."

Winn: "I'm not an idiot, Alex. I understand."

Alex: "I know you're not an idiot, Kara. You're courageous and headstrong. If we can't contain this, the whole world will need you, not just us."

Winn: "But I love you."

"Well, fuck."

"What?" Maggie asked.

Alex said, "I told her the whole world would need her if we couldn't contain this thing, and here's her response."

When Alex held up the phone, Maggie said, "Well, fuck. Get Little Danvers in line."

"I'm working on it."

Alex: "Kara, you listen to me. Maggie and I are going to take care of this thing and come home. If you show up here and get infected, your presence could be a major impediment."

Alex: "You know that we're immune. You could tell others or just kill us. Kara, staying away is the best way you can help us right now."

There was another pause and then Kara texted back from Winn's number again.

Winn: "'K" 

Winn: "I don't like it though. I should have gone from the beginning,"

Alex: "I love you, Kara but no. You're not always the best person for every job. This time, Maggie was.

Alex: "Go do your job, and let us do our job. This time, we're going to save the world. I love you, Kara."

Winn: "I love you too, Alex. I love Maggie."

"She loves you."

"I love her too," Maggie said.

Alex: "Maggie loves you too. We'll check in when we know more. Bye."

When Alex put her phone away, Maggie asked, "Your sister chill now?"

Alex snorted. "No, but she'll stay put."

"Good enough."

The rest of the search was equally uneventful. There were two places that were technically on the highway but were part of the town, and Alex and Maggie slated them for tomorrow's recon. It was well after dark when they made their way back to Maggie's folks' home. Maggie said she'd be able to locate the addresses of the people who didn't seem to be infected if Alex could provide a distraction at the homestead. They might be their best lead for more intel.

Nodding as they pulled into the driveway, Alex said, "So, what I'm hearing you say is I should ask your folks to show me baby pictures. That's what I'm hearing."

Eyes narrowed at Alex, Maggie pushed the button on the remote which beeped as she said, "Babe, payback's a bitch, and so am I."

"Is that a threat?" Alex asked as the SUV pulled into the garage?

'Beep.'

"Of course not," Maggie replied over the sound of the garage door closing. "I don't make threats. I make promises."

They stared each other down for several seconds before they both started to laugh.

"That was good," Alex said. "That was very good."

"Thanks," Maggie replied leaning over and kissing Alex briefly. "I had another one I almost used."

"What was it?"

Getting out of the vehicle, Maggie yawned and stretched, the bag of fruit and veggies swinging from one hand. "I'm saving it. Maybe I'll get to use it later."

"I look forward to it."

Alex's arm over Maggie's shoulder, they walked through the kitchen both smiling.

"Mamá, Dad?" Maggie called out as they walked through the house.

"We're in here!" Came Maggie's father's voice from the dining room.

The couple followed the voice to the dining room which was off of the kitchen. The long table was just around the corner of the archway and sat underneath a set of illuminated chandeliers. The brick design continued on one wall and surrounded a buffet table with a mirror above it. In here the floor was also stone, but a different color, a brown that seemed to match the wood shade from the kitchen. It was covered by an almost white oriental rug that ended several inches from each end of the room, exposing the floor below. The chairs were the same off white color with dark wood that matched the table. Said table was formidable with eight chairs but set for four. However, just Maggie's parents were present. There looked to be enough food for eight, and much had already been consumed.

"We didn't think you girls would make it home in time for dinner," Maggie's mother said. "We're almost done."

"Oh, uh…" Looking at varies meats, many slathered in cheese, Maggie's eyes slowly widened.

"We ate while we were out. Wow, I never knew I could eat so much. Maggie, what was that place where we ate?" Alex jostled her fiancée slightly with her elbow repeating, "Maggie?"

"Hmmm, oh! Yeah, The Doghouse. We headed over to Wymore and grabbed food at The Doghouse, just like you suggested, Mamá. Yeah, we were both really hungry. We grabbed ribs, burgers, chicken, uh…"

"Cheese sticks," Alex added with a smile. "I love cheese sticks. This looks great, and the churro doughnuts were amazing, Mrs. Sawyer. Maggie actually ate more than I did. I had to take a call from my sister, tried to talk her into coming here after she's done with her assignment, and Maggie ate her food and finished mine. Maybe I could join you two, and we could eat and talk for just a little bit?"

"That would be nice," Charles said as Alex pulled up a seat. "Maggie, sit and join us for a spell? Your parents barely recognize you anymore."

"Dad, I need to call work and check in on the overnight shift. Would it be okay if I used your office? My work is confidential. As soon as I know things are all set, I'll come out and join the family here, okay?"

"There are things at your work you need to keep secret from us," Leticia asked.

"Of course not, Mamá," Maggie said with an easy smile, her dimples bring a mirroring smile back from her mother. "My work has protocols, though, just like Alex's. If they hear folks moving around and talking in the background, they'll know I'm not following protocols. We don't want strangers coming to town, do we?"

"No, we don't," Leticia replied, her voice flat and her eyes hard suddenly.

"Then let me take care of this. So, anything I should ask my work about, just to make sure no one is suspicious? Like, is there something here important we need to protect?" Maggie probed.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, sweetheart," her father replied.

"Dad, I'm a detective, and Alex is in the FBI. If there is something important here that needs protecting, there's no one better in this town to do it. You get that, right?" Maggie asked as she walked to the end of the table and put her hand on her father's shoulder. "We're family. We're all family. How can we help?"

Patting his daughter's hand, Charles replied, "The council has this. You kids don't have to worry about anything. Go make your call." Shooing Maggie away with a dismissive hand, Charles turned to Alex and said, "So tell me about this sister you want to bring to town?"

Ignoring the conversation, Maggie leaned down to her mother and said, "Mamá, what's the password for the computer in the office and for the Wi-Fi? The reception on my cellphone is lousy."

"Oh, the computer is our anniversary and the Wi-Fi, it's Franky's birthday and then Ricky's birthday, just the last two numbers of the years. Do you remember those?"

Wiggling her jaw as she tried to release some tension, Maggie stared at her father while he and Alex chatted and she replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I remember your anniversary and my brothers' birthdays. I remember all my families' important days. I never forgot about any of…" Eyes closed, she took a deep breath before looking at her mother and asking, "Do I have any nieces or nephews?"

"Sí, cariño," she replied proudly as she put her napkin on the table. "Want to see some pictures?"

Placing her hand on her mother's to keep the woman at the table, Maggie replied, "Stay and get to know Alex better. I need to make this work call. After my call, or maybe tomorrow we can look at pictures. I'm tired. I haven't slept in like two days."

"That's not good, Miel. We need our sleep," she responded patting Maggie's hand. "You should turn in early."

"Sounds like a plan."

Watching Maggie leave the room, Alex was momentarily distracted by the utter weariness her fiancée was showing. It wasn't just physical either. It was an emotional exhaustion that came from stress. Alex only bore a portion of it herself. They were both here, trying to save lives, trying to save the world, but for Maggie it was so much more personal. What had been asked of Maggie, what Alex had asked, wasn't fair. So little in their lives seemed to be.

"Alex?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Alex asked, turning back to Maggie's father.

He smiled. "You were telling me about meeting our girl when someone was trying to kill the President."

"Right," Alex replied with a little bit of a laugh as some tension slid from her body. "Your daughter kept showing up on my crime scene, and I think she'd always get there before me. At first, she was a pain in my…ahem…butt, Sir. She had contacts I didn't have, and she was so damn smart and resourceful. I didn't know what to make of her."

"Smart and pretty, that's our Maggie," he replied with a knowing nod. "She always was one step ahead of everyone and usually getting herself into trouble but saying she was trying to get someone else out. Well, I'm just glad we're all working together now. It's good to all feel like a family, finally."

Head tilted to the side, Alex asked, "Maggie was a trouble maker?"

When Leticia laughed, Alex looked at her, but she was drawn back by Charles' voice. "You're thinking about the water tower, aren't you love?"

"Oh, that niña," Leticia said with a smile that was Maggie's as her eyes sparkled. "Chuck, I thought you'd end up in the hospital with an aneurysm that time. You were purple, and steam was coming out your ears like a kettle put on to boil."

He laughed. "Oh, I remember. There was a fury in me that day. I ranted and raved, and she just stood there, maybe up to my arm pits and paint still on her fingers. She kept her chin stuck out and stared me down. I told her she wasn't leaving her room for a week, not for anything. When she asked what she was supposed to do if she had to pee, I told her I'd send up a bucket."

That got Leticia laughing again. "Oh Chuck, you should her seen her face when I opened that door and put in a bucket and said, 'Your dad sends his regards.' She was white as you."

Hands moving back and forth, Alex said, "Wait, wait, you didn't really make her—?"

"Oh Lordy no!" Chuck shot backed with a laugh. "I don't even think she was grounded the whole week. She did miss the graduation ceremony and that dance with her classmates, though. I don't think she cared about the dance. I guess it makes sense now."

"Why now?" Alex asked, much relieved that Maggie's parents weren't quite as bad as she had feared just a moment ago.

"Oh, some boy, a Robert or a Roger or something, he'd asked, and her friends had pushed her to go with him. She was never keen on him, but of course local boys all chased after her," Chuck said.

"She's really pretty," Alex agreed.

"Like her mom," Chuck agreed. "Plus, she'd be quite the catch, all things considered. Wouldn't hurt to marry a Sawyer in these parts."

Alex leaned back, not sure what to make of that. She had questions, but mainly she had just to keep them talking, keep them busy. "So, what had Maggie done to get you both so riled up at her? Mrs. Sawyer said something about the water tower."

Chuck nodded and smiled broadly. "She snuck out of here one night and climbed up that damn thing. She had cans of spray paints, and she wrote all over it. She wrote…What was it she wrote, Letty?"

"I can't believe you, of all people, would forget. I thought I'd have to get it carved into your tombstone…or hers," Leticia replied with a laugh. "She wrote, 'The mayor and council are corrupt. Don't pay your taxes. Fight the establishment.'"

"Fight the establishment?" Alex chuckled. "You know, Maggie works for the establishment now."

"Oh, I know. I know," Chuck said as he laughed. "Is that what they call irony?"

"We're what they call wrinkly," Letty said with a wink.

"How old was she?" Alex asked.

"Letty?"

"Eleven," the woman replied. "She got her braces off the next year. Oh, how she hated those things. They kept her teeth straight."

"Nothing else, though," Alex added.

There were several moments of silence and then Chuck and Letty broke into peals of laughter.

"Oh, that was good, niña," Letty said. "You're not eating. Here, have a chicken tostada."

"Letty's cooking is the best."

"That's what Maggie said," Alex commented as she took the offered food. Biting into it, she moaned, "Mmmmm. So good. Now I wish we hadn't eaten so much while we were out. I'm so full already."

"But you have room for dessert," Letty said in a leading way.

"More churros? Those churro doughnuts were amazing. My sister Kara is going to go nuts over them. She loves doughnuts."

"Tres leches cake," Letty answered. "We'll have more doughnuts for breakfast. They're not exactly traditional, not real churros, but that's what happens when you marry a white man with a sweet tooth. You adapt and make churro doughnuts…a lot of them."

"Do you want to adopt my sister?" Alex asked chomping down on more food with a smile and happy moan.

"How old is she?" Letty asked.

Alex swallowed before responding, "Too old to be adopted, but once she eats your cooking, that won't stop her from trying to get you to adopt her."

"Well, she's family," Chuck said. "You need to get her down here, and then we can get her fed right. Is she coming?"

Chewing once again, Alex shook her head, swallowed, and then wiped her mouth before she could reply. "Not yet. She's a reporter, and she's on assignment. I think she'll be coming down when she's done. Maybe I should take some pictures of your churro doughnuts in the morning. That should convince her."

Letty smiled and nodded for a moment, but then turned and looked over her shoulder and asked, "Do Maggie's work calls usually take this long?"

Pushing the last of her tostada into her mouth, Alex chewed quickly then swallowed while nodding. "Mpf, she, mmmmm. Really good, Mrs. Sawyer. Yeah, sometimes Maggie's work calls can go long. National City isn't like this. It can be dangerous, and she's a detective. So, I've never seen any pictures of Maggie when she was younger. You two don't happen to have any photo albums you could show me, do you?"

"Do we?" Letty looked over at her husband, smiling, as he smiled back. "Cariño, how much time do you have?"

"Well, I'm home, right? My time is yours," Alex replied.

It was about twenty minutes later when Maggie wandered into the living room, drawn by the sounds of laughter. Beer in hand, Alex sat on the couch between Letty and Chuck. In Alex's lap was an open photo album, and Maggie's parents were both pointing things out, both smiling. In turn, Alex would smile and laugh, all enjoying the trip down Maggie's memory lane. Right now they seemed to be in the 5th grade: bangs and braces.

"Ahem."

As all three people on the couch turned, Alex smiled up at her fiancée. "Oh, hey, babe. We were just—"

"Et Tu, Alex?" Maggie said with a head shake, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?"

"I'm heading up to bed. You coming?"

"Uh, you want me to tuck you in?" Alex asked as she half rose, her eyebrows raised with a different question obvious in her face…well, obvious to Maggie.

Maggie shook her head. "I'm exhausted, babe. I'll be asleep before my head hits the pillow. Let's talk in the morning."

As Maggie turned to go, Alex placed the album in Letty's lap and stood to go after Maggie. "Babe, hold on. Goodnight kiss?"

"Ah…" Glancing over at her parents, Maggie smiled back at Alex, "Sure." She slipped her arms up around Alex's neck, tugging her girlfriend closer.

The kiss grew and deepened. It surprised Alex especially as she was well aware of their audience. As Maggie stepped away, Alex said, "Wow, that was…affectionate."

"Well, sure. Why not, right?"

"O-kay. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Just tired. Have a good time with my folks," Maggie said waving everyone good night as she headed upstairs.

The dream was a good one, a very good one. In one part of her brain, Maggie even knew it was a dream. She didn't care. The only thing that really mattered was getting some of these damn clothes off because there were too many damn clothes on for what they were trying to do. Then, in the way of dreams, the bed was outside in a field. She didn't care. All she cared about were fewer clothes.

"Maggie, Maggie wake—" As the pistol leveled inches from her face, Alex stopped speaking. She looked from the barrel of the weapon to her fiancée's sleep infused eyes, blink after blink showing Maggie's struggle with wakefulness. "Maggie, it's Alex."

"Alex?"

"Yes."

"Alex?" She repeated after several blinks.

"Again, yes. It's just me, sweetie. You mind taking that pistol out of my face? Your morning breath is usually bad enough. This is like injury to insult."

"Yeah. Sorry," Maggie said dropping the weapon into her lap but not releasing it from her grip. "It's morning?"

"Not yet," Alex replied. "It's almost three in the morning. I need you to get up so I can show you something."

Nodding, Maggie rubbed at her face with the heel of her empty hand. "Did you find the thing? Are we going to…YAWN…Are we going to blow it up?"

"No, I didn't find it," Alex said with a smile. "Damn, but you look cute with bed head. You're so…rumpled. You look extra kissable."

With one hand still on her eye, Maggie grimaced at her fiancée. "Wait, so no giant plant?"

Alex shook her head.

"Did we find some other kind of alien or someone who can…YAWN…lead us to the plant?"

"No sweetie, it's nothing like that. I just want to show you something fun. Come get dressed," Alex replied kissing Maggie's forehead.

Recoiling from the kiss, Maggie huffed and dropped back into bed. "Wake me up when it's time to blow something up."

"Oh, come on, babe. You'll like this—"

Alex tumbled backward off the bed as Maggie's pillow hit her cleanly in the face. "Fuck off and die. I'm tired. Nothing short of C-4 is getting me out of bed until morning."

"Fuck," Alex said from the floor as she slowly dragged herself back onto the bed. "The NCPD must train their officers in pillow warfare. That actually hurt. Babe, I think you really will want to see this thing I have to show you."

Without moving, Maggie growled her threat as she said, "Alex, the pillow was a warning shot. I don't give two of those, and I will shoot you."

"I did something that's really going to piss off your dad once he's free of this alien plant control thing."

For several moments Maggie didn't react, and then she rolled toward Alex. "You did?"

Alex nodded.

"What did you do?"

Holding out her hand toward her fiancée, Alex replied, "Get up, get dressed, and come with me if you want to see."

With another growl, Maggie threw back the covers as she got up. "Fine, but just you remember that I'm armed."

"Babe, you're always armed. It's one of the many sexy things about you."

Maggie was surprised when, in the garage, Alex stopped them at her dad's truck instead of the SUV. The thing was a gas guzzling monstrosity. It had double wheels in the back, was jacked up, and had flood lights on top. He'd always had something like this when she was young, and he'd always replaced it every few years, so it stayed new. Maybe he leased it. She didn't know. He certainly never let her brothers drive it, and she was never old enough to do it when she lived at home. She'd been tempted in her rebellious teen years. Taking his truck and driving off, leaving him raging with that vein throbbing in his neck had been many a teenage fantasy, but she'd never advanced to grand theft auto. No, her actions had been more around civil disobedience, but if you had asked Charles Frederick Sawyer about them, she was at least halfway to Charles Manson.

Sitting on the passenger side of the truck as they pulled out onto the road, Maggie asked, "Is this what's going to make him flip out, you taking his favorite child?"

"Hmmm?"

"The truck," Maggie explained. "He's always loved his truck more than any of the kids. We were never allowed near it. We had plenty of chores as kids, but he hand-washed his truck himself."

"Oh, no. Your dad said I was welcome to borrow it anytime. He was really nice about it. Your parents were both really nice to me all night. I like them."

"You do?"

Alex nodded.

"Huh."

"You're surprised."

After a few moments of quiet, Maggie replied, "Just show me the surprise. It better be worth getting out of bed for. I was having a great sex dream, and you were one of the women in it."

"Smart ass," Alex replied with a head shake.

"My donkey's IQ is 140."

"…what?"

"It's a thinker. Think about it. You'll get there." Maggie sat smiling forward, dimples showing and her hair a mess. Her leather jacket was zippered closed against the fifty-degree temperatures common around these parts in the overnights of late May.

"Ugh."

"You just got it."

"You're still an ass," Alex said.

"You do realize you're marrying me. For the rest of your life, you'll be waking up next to me, spending your life with no one but me, listening to my sarcastic jokes. You're stuck with me. You got that, right?"

A quiet hung in the air and then Alex's hand slid over one of Maggie's. She turned, a goofy smile on her face. "God, yes. I have no idea how I got so lucky."

"Damn, Danvers, you got it bad."

Denying nothing, Alex nodded and grinned.

"Okay, eyes on the road, babe. As much as I'd like to see Dad's truck busted up, I would not like to be in it when it happened."

"Yes, ma'am," Alex replied, eyes forward but sparkling. "You know, it's sexy when you order people around. I like it."

"I'll keep that in mind when we get home and get back to our own bedroom. You'll need some R&R, Agent Danvers."

"Yes, yes I will, Detective."

The rest of the drive was relatively quiet. Mainly it was taken up with Maggie asking where they were going, and Alex saying she'd find out when they got there. Grumbles and threats followed. They headed out toward the edge of town before pulling off road and stopping but leaving the truck running.

"Okay, we're here," Alex said with a broad smile. "Let's get out."

"We're here? We're where? Alex, this is nowhere. I mean, this town is nowhere, and now you've taken us to a nowhere section of nowhere. Honestly, this is like Outer-east Bumfuck. What's up?"

"Just get out of the truck."

"Are you sure you're not infected?" Maggie asked, looking a big suspicious.

"Are you sure you're not infected?" Alex mocked with a head shake. "Babe, if I were infected I'd have tossed you over my shoulder like a sack of flour, dragged you off to the church, and gotten you pollinated. That or I would have just killed you in your sleep before you could draw on me. Then I'd have called in J'onn and Supergirl, told them it was all clear, but we had a situation that needed their attention and gotten them infected too. I'd have sent them after the Lanes and that military group to end the threat. I wouldn't have brought you out here in the middle of the night, all right?"

"You've given this a lot of thought," Maggie said, sounding no more assured.

Sighing, Alex nodded. "I don't try to think about these things. I don't try to think what I'd do to help the enemy if I were turned. My damn brain is just so tactical. It's a gift and a curse. Now, do you want to see my surprise?"

"It's not going to get me infected or killed?" Maggie checked.

"Definitely not. It's going to piss off your dad…eventually."

Her smile returning, Maggie opened the truck door and said, "Show me."

Alex stood Maggie several feet in front of the truck, her back to the vehicle. It was dark, a bit after three o'clock in the morning, and though the stars lit the area well, it didn't reveal much of interest.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now, just wait a minute. Here comes the big reveal," Alex said as she walked back to the truck, leaving Maggie.

Maggie glanced back over her shoulder, but trusting in Alex, she returned to look ahead. Suddenly the flood lights from the truck surged on. They were bright, engulfing the area, and tilted upright. They illuminated the trees in the background, but even more so the water tower that stood in the forefront. Tall and white, it had been a piece of pride for the town for years, bearing its symbol.

As her fiancée came to stand next to her again, Maggie stammered out, "Alex, it's…it's…"

"Well, do you like it?"

"…it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and I mean even more so than boobs and guns. I love it. I love you!"

Alex wrapped her arms around Maggie, and they stared up at the tower together.

"The color choice is…uh…that stands out. Well, it fits for the area," Maggie noted.

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, well, I wanted red, but they didn't have a lot of that at the hardware store. That color, that color they had by the gallon. They seemed to have an endless supply. I guess you folks have a lot of call for it or something."

"How'd you get it in the middle of the night?"

"None of the stores are locked," Alex explained. "You know how the lady at the co-op told us just to pay what we wanted? The whole town seems to be like that. You just go in, take what you want, and leave what you want. They're all just one big happy community. I even borrowed a ladder."

As Maggie chuckled, her arms wrapped around Alex's waist from the side and her head on Alex's shoulder, they both stared up at the water tower. In turn, Alex held Maggie tightly and the redhead's head dropped to the side resting on that of the other woman. So many years back, more than twenty now, it had caused one of the biggest fights that Maggie and her father had ever had. Now it would stand as a different kind of reminder. Now, on it the words were displayed, "Alex Danvers + Maggie Sawyer 4EVER." They were surrounded in a heart in case anyone wasn't clear what it meant. The town's logo had been covered in white paint, and the whole display of love showed up clearly in John Deere green.


	7. 7 - Romance at the Doghouse

"Boot?" Alex asked, lying in a sleeping bag in the back of Maggie's father's truck, her head resting on Maggie's shoulder as she looked into the night sky while her fiancée directed her gaze.

"Bootes plural," Maggie repeated, still pointing toward a set of stars in the sky. "There's an E after the T then an S. Bootes is the shepherd. You can see him moving across the sky in the spring and summer. You see the really bright star in him?"

Alex nodded into Maggie, holding her closer.

"That's Acturus. It's a red super giant. It's like a hundred time brighter than the sun and twenty times bigger. Since it's thirty-something light years away, which is really close for a star, that's why it looks so bright." As she felt Alex place a kiss along her jaw, Maggie pointed to another constellation. "Okay, do you see those two bright stars, the ones really close together over there?"

"Where, there?"

"No, over there," Maggie said redirecting Alex's hand.

"Oh, okay. Sure, they have a few more around them. Though, I guess this is the sky. That's all stars, right?"

Grinning, Maggie replied, "I guess. Those bright stars are Pollux and Castor. They're the heads of Gemini. It's one of the few constellations that actually looks like it's supposed to. See, you can trace the body, legs, arms go there to the hands. Can you see it?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah!" Alex said rising onto an elbow. "Yeah, that's pretty cool, Mags." Turning to look down at her fiancée, she asked, "Why do you know so much about the stars, and how have we never really talked about this before?"

"Because you can't see them in the city," Maggie replied with a shrug. "It's so bright in National City, most of the stars are obscured in the constant light. Here, though, here you can see the whole sky. I haven't been out like this in…well, in nearly twenty years. I'd almost forgotten what it's like to really see the stars at night. Living in the country, you saw the stars, and you got to know them. I learned how to navigate by them in case I got lost. We used to come out at night a lot when…"

Maggie's voice faded out, and Alex asked, "When your dad took you kids camping and hunting?"

Surprised, Maggie looked at the other woman and asked, "How did you know that?"

"Your dad showed me. I even got to see pictures of you in camo, a bright pink vest, and holding a rifle. You looked pretty bad ass…for an eight-year-old." While Maggie scrunched up her nose, Alex said, "Your dad told me you were an awful shot."

"I was a great shot."

"He said you never hit a thing."

"I always hit exactly what I was aiming for." Sitting up, Maggie took aim with her pretend rifle, pointing toward a spot in the distance as she made a bang and feigned the recoil. "Bang! I'd take aim and then move my sight four inches to the side. The deer or rabbit I was looking at would take off, another animal saved."

Alex chuckled. "Now that sounds like my vegan girlfriend. I bet your dad wasn't pleased."

"Oh, he was pissed," Maggie said as she turned to face Alex, a broad grin painting her face. "He'd say, 'If you can't hit dinner, you can't eat it, Margarita. Nothing but vegetables for you tonight.' Heh. As if that was a threat. I could knock down tin cans faster and from further away than my brothers, but I just couldn't hit those damn bunnies."

"You think he would have figured it out," Alex said.

Shrugging, Maggie replied, "Your sister puts on a pair of glasses, and people don't know she's Supergirl. People don't see what's in front of their faces if they don't want to see it. Willful ignorance is a wonderful thing."

"It sure is," Alex yawned.

"Stop that," Maggie yawned back. "We should probably head back to the house and try and get some sleep. The sun will be up soon. Hey, thanks for the water tower. I love you, babe."

As Maggie leaned in, Alex enjoyed the kiss. As it broke, she replied, "I love you too. You know, it would probably be safe for us to—"

"Nope. It's not going to happen. You want to get laid; you kill Mama Plant," Maggie said climbing out from the sleeping bag."

"Fine," Alex said with a grumble. "Did you get the address of Sue Smith?"

"I did. I got the address of all of the Native American folks in town and ran the plates on the jeep we saw while I was at it. It's registered locally."

"Huh, you did call work," Alex said while she helped to roll up their sleeping bags. "Everything okay in National City?"

Eyeing Alex, Maggie just nodded.

"Hey, what's wrong? I mean, outside of everything that's wrong. You seem kind of withdrawn since we got her. What aren't you telling me?"

After a moment of contemplation, Maggie said, "Your family is really awesome. You're lucky."

"I know. My wife to be is really awesome. You know, maybe your folks will come around after this. That could be the silver lining on this whole mess."

"Maybe," Maggie replied, but it wasn't convincing. "Let's just get some sleep and then go look for more answers after that, okay?"

"Whatever you need, I'm here for you and whatever you need, always."

They headed back to the house, Alex drawing both their blood and starting a test. She gave them each another round of the vaccine before bedtime. She had some samples of the air already being checked. Although they weren't actively being reinfected, between what was already in their bloodstream and the pollen in the atmosphere, there was concern that they could lose their control without booster shots. They had a limited amount of the vaccine and a limited time to stop the spread of the alien influence. They headed to bed tired, worried, with the joy over their act of civil disobedience well and truly overshadowed by the looming threat of the growing alien invasion.

It was some hours later when Alex blinked sleep from her eyes, the sunlight streaming through the window showing it was well into the morning. After a few moments of disorientation, she remembered where she was and felt no better for it. The digital clock on the side of the bed read 9:47 which was much later than she normally slept even on a day off. Maggie was nowhere to be seen and her pillow was cool.

"Crap." Throwing off the blanket, Alex rose and headed out of the bedroom, glad she'd packed some real pajamas for the trip. She didn't own many, but she knew they'd be needed today. Downstairs, she found Leticia sitting in the living room reading. "Hey, Mrs. Sawyer. Do you know where Maggie is?"

"Out."

"Out?"

Leticia nodded.

"What do you mean, out?"

"I mean she left, cariño."

"She left the house without me?" Alex asked, her heartbeat picking up. "She wouldn't have done that."

Eyebrows rising, Leticia asked, "Are you all right?"

"I…" Alex rubbed at her face with one hand. "Yes. I'm fine. I was just a little bit disorientated when I woke up. Did she leave me a note or say anything? I don't mean to be rude. I'm just…surprised."

"Well, she wanted to wake you, but her papá was leaving and said he couldn't wait. Maggie said she was going to shoot you a text."

"She left with Mr. Sawyer?"

Nodding, Leticia replied, "Chuck had a meeting in town, and Maggie wanted to go with him. He said it was now or never, and she grabbed her coat and ran after him, said she'd text you and explain. She didn't text you, dear?"

Brows furrowed, Alex thought and said, "My phone, my phone's in my coat. I'll be right back." Alex raced upstairs and back into the room she and Maggie shared. She patted first one then the other pocket of her leather coat, coming away with her cell phone. Pulling it out, she unlocked it to find a text from Maggie.

Maggie: "Danvers, my dad's heading out to some big meeting. Had to literally run out the door after him if I wanted to see what was up. Sorry. Hauling ass here.

Maggie: "Hit me up when u wake up sleeping beauty. I'll text u when we're done. Love u babe! Smooch."

"Damn it, Sawyer! We don't leave each other alone, bitch," Alex grumbled while putting her phone down with a bit too much force as she pulled off her PJs and put on some clothes. Once dressed, she hustled off to the bathroom while texting.

Alex: "WTF! Where are you!? Get your ass back here, Sawyer!"

She brushed and peed at the same time, multi-tasking like a boss while she watched her phone impatiently. Two minutes later, the text still hadn't been returned. Grumbling, she headed downstairs again, brushing her hair with her fingers, socks shoved into her back pocket.

Dropping into a chair as she put on her socks, she asked Maggie's mom, "Do you know where Maggie and Mr. Sawyer went?"

"The lodge."

Alex looked up, narrowing her eyes while she pulled on her other sock. "I don't know where that is? Where is that?"

"You know where Gina's Café used to be?"

Alex shook her head.

"Oh, well you know where Erica's daughter went into labor right on the main strip?"

With an eye roll, Alex shook her head again.

"Huh…thought everyone knew about that. Most excitement we had in these parts in a dog's age. Well, how about back when—"

"Jesus, Letty, I've been here twenty-four hours! No directions by landmarks that don't exist anymore!" Alex said with jaw tight as she stared at Maggie's mother. As the other woman stared back, Alex immediately forced a smile, "Heh, heh. Wow, I must be hangry. Still getting use to this new appetite. Sorry about that. Mrs. Sawyer, could you just give me directions with something that's still here, please?"

"Of course, cariño," she replied, smiling sweetly. "You know where A Second Look is?"

"The consignment shop?" Alex asked.

"That's the one. Well, go there and continue through…oh, let me see," the older woman said counting. "Yes, go through three stop and go lights. There's a big red brick building on the corner. They have lodge meetings in the basement there."

"Stop and go lights," Alex repeated thoughtfully. "Oh, do you mean stop lights?"

"Well, you stop, but you also go at them, don't you?"

"Uh, I suppose you do. I'm going to head out. Maggie left the SUV, right?"

"Yup. The keys should be hanging on a hook in the kitchen." As Alex got up, Letty stood also and called after her. "Oh, you need to eat, cariño. You're starving, and it's drawing on you something fierce."

"Oh, uh, I'll eat while I'm out," Alex replied from the kitchen, grabbing her boots and pulling them on. "Wait, do you have churro doughnuts?"

"I sure do," Letty replied. "Would you like some to go?"

"You're a good woman; you know that?"

"I'll be a good mother-in-law too," Letty replied with a wink as she pulled out some more Tupperware. She filled it, then poured some juice in a travel mug. "Have a good day. Come back for lunch. I guarantee you'll like it."

"I guarantee you're right," Alex replied shoving a doughnut into her mouth and taking a big bite. "Mmmmm."

She drove through town, finding her way to A Second Look easily enough. In a town, this small, things were easy to find. She counted stop lights, but out in front of a red brick building on a corner stood Maggie and Chuck Sawyer. Maggie stood around, hands in the pockets of her leather coat, while her father was in conversation with two men. As the SUV pulled up, Maggie's head lifted in recognition.

"Hey," Alex said, stepping out of the vehicle.

"Hey, what are you doing here, babe?" Maggie asked. "I texted you this morning to just text when you woke up and that I'd text back when I was done."

"I did text you, **babe** ," Alex replied, her jaw tight, with strain. "Everything…cool?"

Nodding while taking out her phone, Maggie unlocked it, showing it to Alex, "No text, see?"

Pulling out her phone, Alex did the same, "Text, see?"

"Huh. Weird," Maggie commented. "Dad, are there text issues around here?"

"Hmmm? Oh, in some of these older buildings, yes. In the basement here, it's like a fortress. Don't tell your mom, but that's half the reason we use it. We can't get calls or texts from our wives." The men with him began to laugh, but then they all seemed to sober up at a thought. "Actually, we should change that. If something happened, our families should be able to get in touch with us."

Ignoring her father's sudden pang of conscious, Maggie took Alex's arm and walked off to the side with her. "Is everything all right?"

"Sure," Alex replied, placing her arm over Maggie's shoulder so she could speak close and quietly in what looked to be a casual and loving way. "I just woke up, and you were gone. I got nervous. Is everything all right here?"

Nodding to Alex, Maggie called out to her father, "Dad, I'm leaving with Alex. You all set?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart. Have a good day. Come back to the house for lunch, okay?"

"Uh, we'll try. We might look around for a property in town since we'll be staying longer than expected," Maggie replied.

"Hey, I bet your dad can set you up with one of his properties, Maggie. That's what he did for each of your brothers out in Wymore," one of the men with her father said.

Alex felt Maggie go tense under her arm. There was a small pause, one she probably wouldn't have noticed if she weren't looking for it, before her fiancée responded. Maggie's voice almost sounded normal…almost. There was tension there too, but it was hidden under a smile.

"I might just be hitting you up for something, Dad. Right now, Alex and I will take a look and see if we find something that seems like us. We're pretty picky," Maggie said, her hand on Alex's where it sat on her shoulder, the grip a bit tight as if seeking reassurance.

"Well, you're family," Mr. Sawyer replied. "We're all family now, so whatever you need, we'll make sure you get. We'll do whatever is best for the community."

Maggie nodded, but then she whispered in Alex's ear, "Let's get the fuck out of here."

Alex didn't need to be told twice. In less than a minute, they were in the SUV, heading back the way from which she'd come. She'd left the main strip before she even thought to ask, "Am I going the right way?"

"Yes, it's away from them."

"Okay, but that's not what I meant," Alex replied. "I mean, where do we have to go? Should I just pull over so we can talk? You seem shaken."

"But not stirred. Just keep heading this way. We'll leave the main part of town, head back to the highway. There's a trailer park off Route 77. That's our next stop," Maggie said, pointing in front of them.

"Okay, Mr. Bond."

"What?"

"Martini, shaken not stirred."

"I've never had one."

"No, it's a line from…" With a sigh, Alex said, "Never mind. What's got you upset, sweetie? Did something happen at the meeting?"

"Yes and no."

"Vague so not helpful," Alex said. "Go on."

"So, it started out much better than I thought it would. I followed my dad because I was hoping for some intel we could use. You know, I wanted something like a map with a red X and the words, 'evil alien mother plant here' written on it."

"No red X?" Alex guessed.

"Don't read ahead."

"Sorry."

"You're forgiven if that's coffee without cream or milk in it," Maggie replied, pointing to the travel mug.

"It's juice."

Grimacing, Maggie took the juice and sipped it, almost smiling as she put the cup back in the cup holder. "It's fresh squeezed. You're conditionally forgiven. Anyway, no red X and no talk about the plants at all. The discussions all started out so damn civil. It was all, 'This would be for the best of the community.' And 'These people in the community need more help.' If I had any doubt that aliens were controlling these people, my doubts were put to rest."

Chewing on a doughnut, Alex nodded. "They're not usually so civic minded?"

"Sure they are, toward certain types of people. Not everyone is 'their kind of people,' and that's the problem."

"Ah," Alex said with a nod. "That's changed, though."

"It sure as shit has. They were like The Three…" Maggie stopped, doing some quick math. "The Nine Musketeers. All for one and one for all. It was going so well at first, part of me was wondering why we thought this alien invasion was such a bad idea."

"You're kidding."

Head shaking, Maggie replied, "Free will is only a good thing when you're not an enflamed hemorrhoid 24/7. Alex, these people suck. Trust me. I have the suction marks to prove it."

Not commenting, Alex asked. "So, when did you decide that free will might be a good idea?"

"Right around the eugenics discussion. Take this right, babe."

"I'm sorry the what discussion?" Alex asked, the tires squealing as she almost missed her turn despite the directions being given. The topic was not one that she had expected.

"You heard me: eugenics. They're not worried about certain diseases as the plant enzymes provide healing factors, but they are concerned with certain…they called them deficiencies that would weaken the race. They want to limit those so that society, as a whole, gets stronger."

"What the fuck does that mean!?"

Hand on Alex's forearm, Maggie gave it a squeeze. "I'm glad you weren't there. You probably would have started shooting them."

"I want to turn around and start shooting them," Alex replied between gritted teeth.

"I'm so glad I'm marrying you," Maggie said with another squeeze of Alex's arm before withdrawing her hand. "Anyway, they had this data from the Race Better Foundation over in Michigan." Maggie stopped when Alex turned to her, eyes burning with enough rage to make her look like a blood relative of Kara's. "Babe don't shoot me this stinky eye and watch the road. You could hit an animal."

"…sorry."

"It's fine. I had to listen to this and act all, 'Yeah, eugenics, Woo Hoo!' I get how you're feeling. Just remember I'm on your side here. Anyway, so they had this data about laws that had passed in Michigan back in the 1920s. They carried on sterilizations until the 1960s on the _mentally feeble and the insane_. That was the exact terminology used before you go at me over it. Basically, that's the plan here." After a long stretch of silence, she asked, "Are you good?"

"Nope."

"I didn't expect you would be. No one should be. Are you going to keep smiling and playing along until…you know?"

"Until we blow this discriminatory alien fucker into kingdom come?" Alex nodded once. "Yeah, I'll make it work. I'm just feeling very motivated right now."

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Hey." Reaching across, Alex placed a hand on Maggie's leg. "You can tell me anything, always. You get that, right? I wanted to be here for the science, but more than that I wanted to be here for you. We're a team. We're like…Malex or something."

Laughing, Maggie shook her head. "Malex? It sounds like a laxative."

"Hmmm. You're right. Okay, we'll work on that. Still, is there anything you want to talk about? You've seemed extra tense even before we got here, and it's getting worse. You were like piano wire when that guy mentioned your dad getting us a house. Mags, talk to me, babe."

"Alex…" Sighing deeply, Maggie stopped to collect her thoughts but turned her head at a sign to their right. "That's the trailer park."

"Fine," Alex sighed in return. "The conversation is on hold, but it's not over."

The trailer park didn't resemble the town at all. Though most of the trailers and small surrounding lots were well kept, they showed their age. It was obvious that finances were stretched. Living quarters were minimal. Where in Blue Springs proper one would find a house you would find a dozen trailers or more on the same size lot here. Even the atmosphere seemed different, almost gray. It was like the life was being sucked from the place.

They drove through the park ending on a small area that was set off from the rest up on a hill. There were six trailers here, none looking any different from the outside than what they'd seen below. At Maggie's direction, Alex stopped in front of one. They checked the number on the mailbox, and it matched the name for Sue Smith on the sheet of paper Maggie had printed out the night before.

Standing outside of Sue's door, Maggie knocked while Alex stood anxiously next to her. They hadn't seen anyone or anything but cats running around and the only sounds they'd heard were the barking of a few small dogs. It looked deserted, but they'd both been attacked in deserted looking places before. Looks, like people, could be deceiving.

Maggie knocked for the third time saying, "Come on Sue. This is Maggie. We went to school together. We just want to talk about…things. We got the same deal going on as you do and can help each other out." When there was no response, they walked around trying to peek through windows that were covered in shades.

"I don't think she's home. Let's try another address," Alex said.

"We could break in."

"That could get us shot. Let's just check out the other trailers. Your list made it look like they're all in this cluster."

Maggie nodded. "They're all Pawnee."

"That's their…tribe?" Alex asked searching for the right word.

"They're Pawnee people," Maggie replied, leading the way toward the next trailer. "Around these parts we have Otoe, the Iowa people, Ponca, Ho-Chunk, the Omaha people, and the Pawnee people. The Pawnee are from Oklahoma, but we have some out this way."

"And there you go again, showing off your mad knowledge from the mid-west. How have you kept this side of yourself from me this whole time?" Alex asked.

"You would be amazed how not useful this stuff is when trying to track down a Maaldorian kidnapper," Maggie replied, knocking on the door as they reached their next trailer and saying, "Hey, Kuruk Locklear, you home? We're just here to talk."

Maggie and Alex tried each of the six trailers on the little hill. They even tried the doors, finding them all locked. That was telling as no store had been. They ended up back at their SUV, Alex eating a churro doughnut while Maggie sipped on some orange juice.

"I don't see the jeep," Alex said.

"I don't see any cars anyplace," Maggie added.

They both nodded.

"So, where is everyone?"

Pulling out here phone, Maggie checked the time. "It's 10:42 on a Friday morning. They're all at work, and the kids would be at school."

"Right, work and school. Do we know where work is?"

"Well, most folks out here work at the meat packing plant."

Narrowing her eyes at her fiancée, Alex continued to chew her doughnut. Swallowing, she took the juice and washed it down with some of that. "We need coffee."

"I second that."

"So a real meat packing plant, or is that some sort of sexual innuendo coming from you?"

"Coming from me? Good one, Danvers," Maggie replied with a snicker as she ignored Alex's eye roll. "No, unfortunately, there is a real meat packing plant in Wymore. It's where most of our less affluent citizens work."

"So we go there," Alex said, grabbing the handle to the SUV.

A hand on Alex's, Maggie shook her head. "Alex, we don't know if they're there. We can't just pull them out of their jobs in the middle of the day with no explanation. We don't know if the guys driving the truck owned it, so asking for the owner by name might bring us someone who's infected. Plus, it's a meat packing plant."

"Uh…you had me until the last part. What's wrong with it being a meat packing plant?"

"You ever been to one?" Maggie asked.

"Well, not but—"

"Keep it that way. You can smell it for miles, especially in the summer. It does nasty shit to the water. You want no part of it. My dad made my brothers each work there over a summer when they turned sixteen. He said it would teach them to appreciate a different type of job and stay in school. Not having to work there, that was probably the one reason I was grateful to get kicked out of here at fourteen. I'd done the tour, and that was enough for me."

"It made you a vegetarian?" When Maggie just stared, deadpan, Alex said, "Oh, it did. I didn't…sorry hun. Okay, so no meat packing plant. So, what's next?"

"We've got a few other places to go on the outskirts of town, but I seriously need a coffee. Can we go and get that first?"

"God yes," Alex said, stepping into the SUV. "I'm starting to get a caffeine headache."

"You're an addict," Maggie replied as she closed her door.

"I'm really horny too." When Maggie's mouth opened and closed, Alex added, "They don't sell that at Starbucks unfortunately."

As Alex began to smile, Maggie smiled back and said, "Damn, I wish they did. I'd have all the cups from every state and so many of those Christmas theme cups. That store would make a killing."

"Okay, let's go get us some coffees. At least we can feed one addiction."

They headed back into town, grabbing some coffees to go and a fruit cup for Maggie that got her an odd look. Off of Highway 77 was a place called Martin Wall Construction. Mr. Martin was nice enough to give them a tour of the place while they talked about possibly buying a lot of land and having something built. He said he could recommend a few lots that might work out for them. Unfortunately, he didn't show them his giant alien plant creature, so they didn't find what they wanted there.

A bit further down the road was McClure Farms. It was mainly an egg supplier, and Alex had no idea so many chickens existed let alone in one place. They were let into a large area that must have had over a thousand of them in one spot with little room between. There was another where apparently workers were sexing the chicks, something Alex was entirely too relieved to find out meant dividing young chickens into groups of male and females. Although the entire farm trip took a bit and was a bit disturbing, it gained them nothing but another name to check off their list.

"Okay, so now what?" Alex asked as they climbed back into their SUV.

"Wymore?" Maggie suggested. "We've pretty much run this place dry."

"Really? Another town and bigger than this? Mags, we're running out of time. I don't think—"

"Alex, what choice do we have?" When Alex sighed, she added, "We can actually go to The Doghouse and grab beers and food."

"Way to bury the lead, Sawyer." Throwing the vehicle into drive she grinned and said, "You had me at beer. You always have me at beer."

Wymore pretty much looked like an oversized version of Blue Springs with the aforementioned Dollar General Store, a real super market, and a bar called The Doghouse. The last attraction was, in Alex's mind, the greatest of the list by far. Of course, the bar was set fairly low as the phrase goes. They checked out a few places in town until the bar opened at 3:00 PM. Nothing came of it, though Alex did point out that the high school prom was tonight.

"So?" Maggie asked.

"So, that's kind of cool, don't you think? Your parents said you didn't go to the school dance in middle school. How about in high school?"

Maggie shook her head. "Nah. I mean I was much more comfortable being queer, but I still had a ways to go. I wish I could tell you I had a girlfriend, we walked hand-in-hand and it was awesome, but it wasn't really like that. It was California, and there were some kids out in high school, but it was still fifteen years ago. Things are evolving and getting better, but we've still got a ways to go. I didn't start openly dating until college. Did you go to yours?"

"Yeah, with a guy friend, but mainly he hung out with his friends, and I danced with girl friends of mine. We weren't dating. My life was a dating disaster back then anyway," Alex noted. "Not like now."

Maggie nodded. "We can probably hit up two more places before the bar opens."

Their entrance into The Doghouse was like a scene out of an old movie. They walked in a little after opening time, and the place wasn't packed, but there were close to a dozen people there. Maggie had said there was a thriving farm community around these parts, and lots of folks were up early and out of work early. As strangers entered, conversation stopped. Music kept playing on the jukebox, but it was almost like a record scratched somewhere, and that stopped too. Slowly, people got to their feet, animosity obvious.

"Hey, how's everyone doing?" Maggie called out in her friendly way, smiling so hard her dimples looked a half inch deep. "I'm Maggie Sawyer, Chuck and Letty's youngest from Blue Springs, and this is my fiancée Alex. We just moved back to the area, and it's good to be home. My folks suggested we come by here, grab a drink, and meet more family. We're all family, right?"

Almost immediately the atmosphere in the room changed as people shifted back into their seats and the bartender, a cute blonde woman said, "Welcome home Maggie and Alex."

"It's good to be home," they replied in unison as if they had practiced it. Turning they looked at it each other and bumped fists. Sitting at the bar, the couple grabbed menus.

"I'm going to get some onion rings, maybe a side salad, and a beer," Maggie said, putting down her menu. "How about you?"

"Burgers look good, make that bacon cheese burgers. Oh, cheese balls look good." Brows drawn together in concentration, Alex asked, "What are gizzards?"

"Chicken intestines," Maggie replied casually trying to catch the waitress' eye.

Her hand on Maggie's forearm, Alex asked, "Are you fucking around with me? Are they seriously serving chicken guts here?"

Maggie smiled sweetly, then turned back to the waitress who asked, "What can I do for you darling?"

"Probably quite a bit, but I'm here with my fiancée," Maggie replied, blinking back at Alex for a moment. "So, we'll have a basket of rings, a side salad two of whatever beer you have on draft, a bacon cheeseburger, an order of cheese balls…" Looking at Alex, she asked, "Want to try the gizzards?"

Alex blanched in way of reply.

"Hold the gizzards. She's on a diet," Maggie quipped to the bartender.

The bartender nodded, waiting with pen and pad in hand.

"Uh, that's it," Maggie said.

"That's it?" The blonde asked. "That's all you two are eating. You're…sure?"

"We just ate, actually," Alex assured the bartender. "I've never seen this place, and Maggie had been too young ever to come here before she left town. We're not actually hungry. We're just here for the…uh…ambiance."

"And the beer," Maggie added.

"Oh, we have a fuckload of ambiance," the bartender replied. "Show up on karaoke night. You get a free air guitar with any purchase."

"Hey, that's the only instrument I can play," Maggie said with a laugh.

Laughing back the blonde said, "I'll get your order in and grab your beers. Food should be quick. We're still pretty early."

"It cool if we grab a booth?" Maggie asked.

The bartender nodded as she walked away.

As they headed to a booth in the corner, an alarm sounded on Alex's phone. Pulling it out of her pocket, she slid in next to Maggie and said, "Time to check in."

Alex: "Checking in."

Winn: "Hey, how's my favorite Danvers' sister?"

"Kara must not be there right now," Maggie noted.

Nodding, Alex said, "Good. She'd be reading over his shoulder, and he'd never send that. She'd pout horribly."

"Winn is a sucker for her pouting."

"We all are, but he's an extra soft touch," Alex agreed.

Alex: "Our recon of Blue Springs has turned up nothing. We've headed over to Wymore and are checking the town."

Alex: "We'll be heading back to Blue Springs in about a half hour to follow up on that lead of the other people who don't seem to be infected. We'll check back in after we meet with them."

Winn: "How's Magpie?"

"How are you?" Alex asked.

"Hungry," Maggie replied, looking up and adding, "Thanks." When the waitress brought their beers.

Alex: "She's fine. Any update on the military situation there?"

Winn: "Lucy and her dad showed up here to meet with J'onn. It got ugly."

"Ugly how?" Maggie asked.

Alex: "Ugly how?"

Winn: "Ugly in that General Lane was pushing for military action and Lucy pushed back. She said she wasn't going to lose one of her best agents, which would be you so feel free to let it go to your head, let alone hundreds of civilians just because he was bloodthirsty."

Winn: "Alex, she used some language I've never heard her use. She used language I've never heard anyone use. I've never thought those words about my father, and he's a madman locked up for multiple homicides."

Winn: "There is a distinct difference between soundproof rooms and sound reducing ones as everyone here at the DEO now knows."

"We should get our fathers together," Maggie commented.

Alex: "What happened?"

Winn: "General Lane said he was going over Lucy's head and he called a Congressman. You know, like he would because he's a tool and stuff."

"Fucking fucker," Alex's fist came down on the table, making some of the beer spill from her glass and heads turn in their direction.

Picking up Alex's beer from the table, Maggie handed it to Alex and took the phone. "Drink. Chill. Smile. We're home, and we're happy."

When Alex did as instructed, Maggie began to text on her fiancée's behalf.

Alex: "So on a scale of 1 to Tori Black, where are we?"

Winn: "What? Tori Who?"

Alex: "She's a porn star. How the hell do u, of all people, not text porn? I'm asking u, how screwed are we?"

Winn: "Ouch and surprising. Just when you think you know a person."

"Fucking-A. Thanks for this addition to my reputation, babe," Alex said with an eye roll.

Winn: "You guys are good for now. Lucy saw her dad's congressman and raised her…"

For several seconds there was no response.

"Is he just being dramatic?"

Alex nodded.

Putting down the phone on the table so they could both see it, Maggie picked up her beer and took a sip. After another few seconds, the little bubble appeared telling them a message was coming.

Winn: "…the President. Heh, heh. General Lane was so pissed."

"Yes." Alex pumped her fisted, smiling widely. "I fucking love Lucy. That bitch is the best."

Looking away from the phone, Maggie pursed her lips and asked, "You love her?"

"Well, sure. She's Lucy," Alex replied as if that explained it all.

"Oh." Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Maggie sent a text.

Alex picked up the phone from the table and began to text again.

Alex: "How much time do we have?"

Winn: "Not tons. Kara flew down to speak to the president personally. You know, girl-to-girl, person-to-person *wink, wink*."

"Smooth, Winn," Alex commented.

Alex: "We might need a few more days. This thing might be in Wymore."

Winn: "Alex, I don't know. I'll tell Kara, but I don't know. Hurry."

"Fuck."

Alex: "We are. Thanks. We'll check in again after we make contact with the non-infected individuals. They may have intelligence that could be the key. Buy us that time."

Winn: "We'll do our best. Stay safe."

Alex: "Thanks."

Drumming her fingers on the table, Alex tried to think if there was anything she'd missed when Maggie tapped her.

Holding up her phone, Maggie asked, "This is Lucy?"

Staring at a picture of Lucy on Maggie's phone, Alex asked, "Yeah. Where's you get that?"

"Winn sent it to me."

"When?"

"Just now after you declared your love for her," Maggie replied. "She's really pretty. She's beautiful. You guys are close, huh?"

"Maggie, no. It's not like that. Not even close. Not ever. I mean, yeah I see it now, but I didn't even know what was going on inside me the last time I saw Lucy."

"And if you had?" Maggie asked.

"Put the phone down," Alex said, taking the phone from Maggie's hand, placing it on the table and taking Maggie's hands in her own. "This has nothing to do with Lucy, me, or even you. Whatever's going on right now, it's about this place. You know I love you. You know I'm attracted to you, incredibly attracted to you. I'm marrying you. This isn't about some friend of mine who happens to be a pretty girl."

"Alex, she's hot."

With great force of will, Alex didn't roll her eyes. She just smiled and said, "Sure, but she's no Maggie Sawyer. I don't light up on the inside when Lucy walks into the room. I never did. Maggie, no pretty face will ever do for me what you do. You're beautiful, smart, funny, clever, passionate, plus, there's something else."

"Is it the sex?" Maggie whispered, her head on Alex's shoulder.

Alex laughed. "It might be the sex. I look forward to you reminding me. I just mean, there's something unmeasurable about us. Just being around you makes me feel more like myself than I've ever felt around anyone else, than I've ever felt alone. I was looking for you my whole life, and I didn't know it until I found you."

Smiling as she inhaled Alex's scent, Maggie said, "So you're saying you like me, like me?"

"Yes, I like you, like you," Alex agreed with a chuckle. "And the sex."

"Alex Danvers, bringing romance to The Doghouse."

"Maggie Sawyer, inspiring it," Alex replied. "Hey, when this is all done, and Kara shows up, I know what I want to do."

"Does it involve food?"

"It's Kara. Of course, it involves food. Let's bring her here and order her a plate of gizzards. We won't tell her what they are until after she eats them."

Lifting up her head, Maggie made eye contact with her fiancée and replied, "I've seen your sister eat three large pizzas and two tubs of ice cream at movie night. I don't think she's picky about what she puts into her system."

"You say the word entrails to her, and she will be, and I'm willing to bet fifty bucks on it," Alex said extending her hand.

"Easy money," Maggie said shaking the hand before her. "I'll take that bet."


	8. 8 - That's Your Prom Theme?

As they drove through the trailer park, Alex and Maggie instantly noticed the difference from earlier in the day. Vehicles were in driveways, and the sounds of people rose from within their homes. Along the wind were the various odors of dinners being prepared, rich and aromatic, making the couple glad they'd just had something to eat. Children's laughter rang out, further disguising the reason Maggie and Alex were here while also reinforcing it.

When there was no answer at Sue's door, they returned to Kuruk's. Knocking, hands on weapons, they stood there and waited until they were feet from the man they had earlier seen driving the jeep. He stood at his door, tall, broad-shouldered, and concern spread across his rugged features when met by two strangers.

"Kuruk Locklear?" Maggie asked.

"Yes," he responded through the screen door. "Who's asking? I don't know you."

"I'm Maggie, and this is my fiancée, Alex. We saw you and your friend in town yesterday. You picked up Sue Smith when we were talking to her."

"Maybe. I was in town yesterday," the man replied.

"It's okay. We're like you," Alex said.

"Like me? What does that me?" Kuruk asked.

"Okay, man. Alex and I are slowly going to pull our IDs out of our back pockets, and your friend over in that window isn't going to shoot us, how does that sound?" Maggie said gesturing with her head.

When Kuruk nodded, both she and Alex slowly removed their identification from their back pockets. They held them up for a bit of scrutiny. He looked at one and then the other, seeing Maggie was a cop from National City and Alex an FBI agent. Then, he looked back at Maggie's ID, his face shifting and his eyes flicked up to her face.

"Detective Sawyer," he said. "This says National City, but are you related to the Sawyers from around here?"

Maggie hesitated momentarily before nodding and saying, "Yeah. Like I said, my name's Maggie. I'm Maggie Sawyer, Chuck and Letty's youngest kid."

In turn, Kuruk paused, his brows rising and mouth circling a bit. "Ah."

"Look, the important part is we got into the town, but we're not really from here. We're…" Maggie looked over at Alex.

Alex went for it. "We're not infected, and we don't think you are either. I really hope you're not. We made a vaccine that protects someone from the infection, but we don't know how to cure it. We're here to kill the thing that's causing this. We don't know where it is. We're hoping you do."

Kuruk's eyes flicked back and forth between them. "A government agent and a Sawyer, huh? Wait here a minute." He closed door, barring them out as hushed voices came from inside the trailer.

"Well, this could be bad," Maggie said.

"You think he's infected?" Alex asked, hand on her sidearm.

"No, I think we just told a Native American that one of us works for the government and the other one's last name is Sawyer. Then we said, 'Trust us.' He's not going to trust us," Maggie explained.

"What does your last name have to do with anything?"

Maggie just shook her head, refusing to make eye contact.

"Hey, hey," Alex insisted, stepping in front of Maggie, taking the shorter woman's chin in her hand and drawing Maggie's face up until their gaze's met. "You've been upset and avoiding this, avoiding me since we got here. Talk to me. We don't hide from each other. We're making a life together. What's going on?"

Maggie sighed, nodding slightly, then nodding more when Alex released her chin. "You're right. I'm sorry. I know you said you like my folks, and you're having a decent time with them, but those people you met, those aren't my parents. The people in my folks' house right now are nice, sweet, supportive, caring, open-minded, and definitely not my parents. Look, I got kicked out not just because of the homophobia, not just because of how my parents felt about gays, but because of how having a fag in the family would hurt their standing in the community."

"I don't understand," Alex said.

"That's why I couldn't stay in the town. That's why they shipped me off to another state and pretty much forgot I existed. Letty and Chuck Sawyer couldn't have a gay daughter. If I couldn't play straight, then I couldn't exist for them anymore. I was such a rebellious kid, fighting against all of the stuff my dad did that I saw as unjust. They knew what I was going to be like, so they made a decision to get rid of me. The Sawyers own this town. We're not good people, Alex. When I talk about the corruption in this town, when I talk about people being forced out of their homes, I'm talking about my father."

"Hold on. Wait a minute. So—"

The door opened, and Alex and Maggie were met by Kuruk again, but this time the teen was with him and holding the shotgun. Kuruk had a pistol in his hand. "Get in."

"Yeah, that's about what I expected," Maggie said, pulling the screen door open.

Alex followed Maggie into the trailer and said, "So, if we're infected, those aren't going to keep us down. You know that, right?"

"They probably don't think we're infected," Maggie said. "I mean they might. They might not. They may just be willing to shoot us just for being us."

"Great. Make it through the plant invasion and die in a trailer park. I do not want this on my tombstone," Alex muttered.

The trailer was relatively nondescript in the way of trailers. It was clean, neat, looking a lot like a ranch style home once you were inside, just a bit narrow. It was carpeted, bedrooms obviously on their right as they were led to the left and a living area where the large window sat, shades drawn. There was a couch and loveseat plus a comfy looking chair which was occupied by an older man, much older, and obviously Native American. Behind him was the kitchen and behind that another door to who knew what.

"Sit down," Kuruk said, gesturing toward the couch with his weapon.

Maggie and Alex did as he said.

"Okay, now what?" Alex asked. "What's the plan here, buddy? You're going to kidnap a federal agent and a police officer while your whole town goes insane, or do you plan to put down the weapons so we can all talk and work together like adults to get out of this mess?" Alex bumped Maggie's foot with her own as she judged the distance to Kuruk, leaning slightly forward when she heard Maggie clear her throat in response.

"The spirits said you would come," the old man in the chair said.

Looking away from Kuruk, Alex kept her weight shifted slightly forward, but she looked at the old man. His face was a collection of wrinkles, but his eyes twinkled with kindness and wisdom from within it. His hair hung in two long braids along either shoulder and was more white than gray. He wore a pale blue button up shirt and jeans. There was something about him that said he'd be at home in more traditional clothing, sitting in a tent instilling wisdom into the youth. There was something about him that said he had much wisdom to instill.

"We've been what now?" Alex asked, clearly not measuring up to this man's level of wisdom.

"The spirits spoke to me again last night. They said we'd be visited by two people, and they'd bring us back from this. I was instructed we should work with them, that our deliverance would come from those we would not expect. They said we should put our faith in the child of our great enemy." He gestured, holding out a hand at Maggie, then moved his arm so that he took in Alex in the motion. "And the family of one that comes from the stars."

"Oh, snap," Maggie said. "Damn, Danvers, he's good."

"I…uh…" Alex managed to nod, not really sure how else to respond.

"So, uh, if we're working together, maybe fewer guns pointed at us would be a nice gesture?" Maggie suggested.

The old man nodded, then gestured toward the others. As weapons were begrudgingly lowered, he said, "I am Pitaesharo. This is Kuruk, and my grandson over there is Shiriki. As you already know, we are free of the creatures that have gained some control of others in this town."

"How?" Alex asked. "Are you just all immune? Someone from your town was immune, and she escaped. That's how we know what's going on. That's how we made a vaccine that kept us from getting infected, but how are all of you immune. Is it an inherited family trait? Maybe it's—"

"A spirit came to my grandfather and warned him of the plants," Shiriki replied. "My grandfather made us a tea to keep the plant spirits from taking over our minds."

"A spirit," Alex said.

Shirki nodded. "An old and powerful one."

"You were warned that the plants would come to your town by spirits, so you made a tea to protect yourselves," Alex added.

Pitaesharo just smiled knowingly.

"But—"

"Babe," Maggie leaned over, whispering into Alex's ear. "Your sister is an alien that shoots lasers from her eyes and flies. Don't mock their beliefs. Plus, they were right. We're here, and the tea works. Drink the tea, Danvers."

Slowly, Alex nodded, then nodded with a bit more force as she whispered back, "Okay, okay you're right. I'm just a scientist and skeptical by nature. They were right, and it works. One thing though, it's not laser beams, it's heat vision."

"Whatever."

Speaking to the group again, Alex said, "That's great. So you're not infected. We're not infected, and we were foretold by spirits to help you. We need one thing to do it."

"You need to know where they're protecting the big one," Kuruk said.

"Finally!" Maggie said. "Do you know where it is?"

"Of course. It's in the bank," Kuruk replied.

"The…the bank? They're keeping it in the bank?" Maggie shook her head. "Why would it be in the bank? What kind of B-movie plot keeps it in the bank? I'm feeling betrayed."

"They're keeping it in the vault," Kuruk clarified. "They brought in all these special lights for it, the kinds you see in nurseries, plant nurseries, not for babies. They locked it in there, and they have guards on it 24/7."

"Fuck, they put it in a bank vault?" Turning to her fiancée, Maggie asked, "Alex do we have enough explosives for that?"

"To get in, probably. To get in and then blow the thing up, no. We weren't planning a bank job. We could get Supergirl to—"

"And risk her getting infected? No," Maggie said, shaking her head vehemently. "We need another plan, one that doesn't turn one of the most powerful beings on this planet against us."

"We used to be able to get into the vault, but they changed the code," Kuruk said, drawing attention back to him again. "Sue works there, and she tried to get in once this whole thing started. It was chancy, but we figured it was worth the chance. The lock on the bank vault is three parts. The first two are biometric. It takes your hand print and scans your retina. It still recognized her retina and handprint, but the code didn't work anymore."

"How does that help us?" Alex asked.

Arm crossed over his broad chest, Kuruk gestured with his chin toward Maggie. "The mayor will have the code won't he, Detective Sawyer?"

"The mayor?" Alex looked at Maggie.

Frowning and dejected, Maggie looked at her hands as she said, "I can get into my dad's computer. If it's in there, I can get us the code." She lifted her head, steeling herself against the distaste she met in the big man's eyes. "What about Sue? We'll need her too if we're going to make this work."

"She's at the high school dance tonight. Her daughter is a senior, and she's a chaperone. She'll do it though," Kuruk said.

"It's dangerous," Alex reminded him. "If they guard it, the people here aren't like they used to be, and they're dangerous."

"We've seen what they can do. We don't get a lot of visitors, just the occasional person looking for directions or needing to fill up. They don't make it out of town. There's just screaming and pieces of them. We'll take a stand."

"You're sure?" Maggie asked.

When Pitalesharo spoke, all eyes fell on the old man. "The spirits warned us for a reason. They didn't do it so we could protect ourselves and hide from danger. We are all part of this land, this earth. We are all its children. It is under attack. We were warned not so we could protect ourselves, but so we could protect our world. We will not run from danger now. If we do that, soon there will be nowhere to run."

Smiling, Alex said, "You looking for a job because I might know some people?"

"Talk to me after you live through this. I'll email you my résumé," Pitalesharo said with a grin.

Alex barked out a laugh, then said to Maggie, "So your folks' place first and then the high school? How do you want to do this?"

"We divide up," Kuruk said. "Sawyer and I will go to the mayor's house, and Shiriki will take you to the high school, Agent."

"Hold on, now, wait a minute," Alex said. "You're civilians. It's bad enough we need to drag Sue into this. We're not taking any more of you. Plus, he's just a kid."

"He's a warrior," Kuruk replied before the teen could reply. "Shiriki is a warrior of the Pawnee people. This is a battle, and he will fight it. Plus, do you want to try and convince Sue of why you're taking her out of a high school filled with controlled, super strong teens, or do you want Shiriki to do it?"

"Oh, good point," Alex said. "Okay, the kid, no offense, but until you can shave you're a kid, the kid comes with me. Maggie, you good going with Kuruk to get the code?"

"I guess. So long as he can play friendly with my parents, and if I can do it anyone can, then we should be fine. I'll get the code. You get the girl. We'll meet at the bank?"

Alex nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Be careful," she added as she rose.

"Hey, you too. I'm just going to deal with my folks. You're going to high school. I remember that place. It's pretty scary."

They walked outside, then Alex kissed Maggie, watching her get into the jeep with Kuruk and drive away.

"So, she's your girlfriend?" Shiriki asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"Cool. She's cute."

Smiling, Alex nodded. "She sure is. She's awesome too. I'm a lucky woman."

Shiriki nodded as he followed Alex to the SUV. Climbing into the passenger's side, he said, "You can't go to the high school dressed like that."

Pulling at her leather jacket, Alex asked, "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Nothing. I mean, you look hot too. It's just; the dance is semi-formal."

"I'm not going to the dance."

"But you're going to the high school," he countered. "They took a vote, and the whole school agreed, just like they do on everything now. The dance is semi-formal. No one gets in unless they're dressed appropriately. I think it's lame, so I stayed home. If we're going in there though…"

"Wait, we need to dress for a school dance to go into a high school and get Sue out?"

He shrugged. "Unless you want to stick out, yes."

"I'm pretty sure they kill people who stick out, so that would be a hard no."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Shiriki agreed.

"Okay, so where does one go to get semi-formal clothing on a Friday night during prom?" Alex asked.

"There's a place in town called A Second Look. They'll be closed right now, but no one locks up anything anymore. We can just go in and grab some clothes then head over to Wymore."

Alex nodded. "I know the place. So, this is your senior prom, and you were going to miss it?"

"Yeah, no big deal. We've got bigger things going on right now anyway. Most of the kids at school are pretty dumb."

Alex thought she heard a certain tone in his voice, so she asked, "No friends there you want to hang out with and no girl there you wanted to take to prom?"

Shiriki shrugged. "Not really."

Alex nodded, letting the subject drop. Not really wasn't a no. It was more of a 'yes, but I don't want to talk about it.' She'd given a lot of those in her life, so she let it go. It wasn't going to stop an alien invasion anyway.

It was nearly thirty minutes later when Maggie's phone rang, showing Alex's name. She answered immediately. "You guys get caught up at the high school, Danvers?"

"Change of plan," Alex replied. "Come meet us at the high school."

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked, tensing immediately.

"Nothing's wrong. Relax, Sawyer. We're just changing the plan a little bit. You and Kuruk meet us at the high school, okay?"

"I don't like it," Maggie replied. "How do I know this isn't a setup?"

Alex sighed loudly. "If I wanted to set you up, I could have done it at the bank. Why would I do it at the high school? Just get your fine ass down here, Sawyer. I want to finish this up so we can get home and…" She cleared her voice. "You know."

"The kid still there?" Maggie replied with a grin.

"Yes, Shiriki is right here. Just show up before I say something I shouldn't. I wasn't good with kids even when I was one."

"I'm not a kid," Shiriki's voice was heard across the line.

Alex sighed again, "Hurry, all right? We're not in any danger or anything, but this is pretty awkward. Did you get the codes?"

"Yeah, we're all set. You find Sue?"

"Not yet. We're going to wait for you to go in," Alex replied.

"Why?"

"Just show up. I'll text Winn to let them know we located the plant and we'll be taking care of it. In case General Lane is trying to pull any more stunts, this should hold him off a bit longer."

"Okay, we're on our way, but I want an explanation when I get there."

"I promise. See you soon," Alex said disconnecting the line.

"I'm not a kid. I'm a Pawnee warrior," Shiriki argued.

"Buy a razor," Alex said as she began to type out a text.

Alex: "We've located the mother plant. It's in the bank vault here in Blue Springs. Maggie has the code, and we're getting someone who can get us through the hand print and retina scanner. We'll be going in tonight. We'll update you on our status after the mission. Make sure there is no military action. Confirm."

Quickly, the little bubble for a response appeared.

Winn: "Awesome! Confirmed! I'll let J'onn know. Hold on!"

"What kind of military action?" Shiriki asked.

"Don't read over people's shoulder. It's rude," Alex replied.

Winn: "J'onn is contacting Lucy and Kara is doing the Cabbage Patch. Vasquez is recording it so that you won't miss out. How does Kara even know Earth dances from the 90s?"

"Who's Kara?"

"Hey!" Waving her finger, Alex glared at Shiriki. "What did I just tell you about manners? Quit it. I literally have a license to kill. Don't make me use it."

"Wow, old people are cranky."

Alex waved the teen off until he gave her some space.

Alex: "I'm looking forward to the video. If you don't hear from us by dawn, a tactical strike on the bank will limit the loss of human life and also diffuse the threat."

Winn: "Don't say that, Alex. You'll be fine. You and Magpie are the good guys, and the good guys always win."

Alex rolled her eyes. She thought Winn watched too many movies. Then again, maybe he watched the right amount. She was a realist, but this world could use more optimists in it.

Alex: "You're right. We'll be fine. We'll check in after we clear out the bank. Hey, Maggie and I get to pull a bank job. Are you proud of us?"

Winn: "So proud and a little bit jealous. As the one with supervillain blood in his veins, I feel like I should have called dibs on this. How am I not on this mission?"

Alex: "Oh, do you want to come to alien plant central and fight your way into the bank to attack the much bigger sentient alien plant?"

Winn: "I withdraw my question. Good luck. Call if you need tech support."

Walking to the back of the SUV, Alex opened the trunk and then unlocked the under area that housed the rest of the weapons and armament.

"So, what do we do until they…? Whoa!" Shiriki said, looking down at the weapons. "Dibs, dibs on that thing."

"It's a rocket launcher."

"Yeah, dibs on the rocket launcher."

"We won't be using it. You don't fire rocket launchers indoors. That stupid shit only happens in movies," Alex said dismissively.

"Awww."

Clapping the teen on the shoulder, Alex smiled. "I know exactly how you feel. Don't worry. We'll have plenty of weapons to use that will be as much fun as a rocket launcher but more useful in this situation. Now, what do you know about tachyon energy weapons?"

"Uh…nothing," Shiriki admitted.

Her smile growing, Alex replied, "Let's change that.

By the time Maggie and Kuruk arrived, Alex and Shiriki were waiting for them in front of the school. They got out of the SUV when the new duo arrived.

Maggie looked Alex up and down. Alex was wearing a red dress with a scoop neck. It came down just below her knees and flared out. It had a little bit of silver around the neckline and matched Alex's jewelry.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Maggie asked. "Is there a dress code for this invasion?"

"No, but the prom is semi-formal," Alex replied holding out a full dress bag to Maggie. "Get dressed so we can get in there and find Sue."

"Oh, no way," Maggie said, pushing out her hands as she stepped back. "I'll take on giant, intelligent, self-ambulating plants, but I draw the line at high school. You go get Sue. I'll guard the door."

"You're scared of high school?" Alex asked.

"This high school? Fuck yeah. Alex, for most of my early teen years I spelled high school A.N.X.I.E.T.Y., and I won spelling bees with that shit. This place was a house of horrors for me. One glance in the wrong direction, at the wrong person, could get me outed and humiliated. When I thought I finally found someone I could trust, all my worst fears came true. I can't go in there."

Tossing the bag over her arm, Alex took one of Maggie's hands and said, "You know you're not a little kid anymore, right?"

Glancing at the school, Maggie looked at Alex and asked, "Then why do I feel like it when I look at that building?"

"Hey, you know you're not alone, right? You'll never be alone again." When Maggie looked away but didn't answer, Alex placed a kiss to her temple and said, "Guard the door. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Maggie watched Alex toss the dress bag into the car before turning to walk away. "Damn it. Alex, wait, wait up. You can't go in there alone. You need back up."

"I'm not alone." Alex gestured to the teen next to her in his suit. "Shiriki is a warrior of the Pawnee people. He's very clever. His name means coyote."

"It does?" Maggie asked.

Shiriki nodded.

"Okay, that's cool. He's not your partner, though. I am, in every sense of the word. I should have your back. I'm going in with you."

"Maggie, you don't have to," Alex assured her.

"I know, but I want to. Okay, that's not true. I've wanted to be pretty much anywhere but here for the past two days, but I need to go in there. This place is filled with demons that I never faced down. I can do this, Alex. Let me do this, please?" Maggie asked.

"Whatever you need," Alex said.

"Apparently I need to change," Maggie said. "Give me five minutes. Man, my hair looks like crap."

"Your hair?" Alex replied with a laugh as Maggie headed back to the SUV to change. "I ran out of the house without showering this morning. I look like a bad morning after a good night."

"You look beautiful," Shiriki said quietly.

Turning with a growing smile, Alex laid a gentle hand on the teen's arm. "Thank you, Shiriki. That's so sweet of you to say. You know, if you ever do find a girl around here that you like, or a boy, whatever, saying things like that to her or him, will definitely help."

Blushing slightly, the boy nodded and looked away.

Kuruk joined them. "I'm going to keep the engine running and wait out here just in case anything goes wrong. The detective has my number in her phone as does Shiriki. Don't get separated."

"I wasn't planning on it. We'll go in, get Sue, and get out. Then we'll fight our way to break into a bank vault and blow up a giant plant inside. Piece of cake," Alex said with a nod as she held out the keys to the SUV. "We should take my vehicle. It has weapons we'll need,"

Taking the keys Kuruk asked, "Agent, what exactly is going on here? These plants, the way people are acting, what are these things?"

"What else? It's swamp gas," Alex replied.

With a sigh, Kuruk rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Sure is a lot of swamp gas flying around on the TV these days and some of it wears capes."

Conversation died off, and Maggie was true to her word, managing to dress hurriedly in the SUV in around five minutes. She was hauling her shoes on when she sat on the side of the seat with the door open. Her dress was dark blue, the skirt slightly longer than Alex's, and the neckline plunging.

"Here," Alex said to Maggie, handing over a gold necklace from her purse where her cellphone was stowed. "Accessorize."

"Thanks. I don't suppose you have a weapon in there, do you?" Maggie asked, closing the clasp on her necklace.

"It wouldn't help us. If we get into a fight here, we're done. Let's just find Sue and leave. Come one."

When Maggie, Alex, and Shiriki entered the school, music from the prom flowed down the hallways. The trio wound their way past lockers lining the walls. Maggie felt her chest tighten as her heart beat just a little too fast. Sent back to the past, suddenly she was fourteen again. Not the right color, not the right sexual orientation, not the right anything…one of these things is not like the other…one of these things does not belong. Then a hand wrapped around hers pulling her back to the present, and it was like color came back to the world. She felt grounded, connected, seen, and accepted.

"Are you all right?" Alex asked.

Staring down at Alex's fingers intertwined with hers, Maggie looked up with a smile, "You know what? I think I am. I never got to do this in high school."

"Do what?"

"Walk down the hallway and hold my girlfriend's hand."

"Me neither," Alex said, bumping up against her fiancée's shoulder. "I'm glad the first time was with you."

"You too. You're way better than Elisa Wilkey."

"Thanks." Alex laughed.

"Though she did have the coolest snapper binder."

Shaking her head, Alex said, "There's always something.

The prom was already in full swing when the group got to the gym. The senior class and their dates had assembled. Music was playing, and several chaperones were spread around the room. Tables with an inordinate amount of food marked the edge of the dance area. A large, papier-mâché globe hung from the center of the room like a disco globe. LEDs lit the exterior of each continent as it spun above the dance floor. As the trio entered a banner read, 'Class of 2017 - We are the future, Think Earth First.'

Maggie and Alex both looked over at Shiriki, but it was Maggie who said, "Think Earth First? That's you prom theme?"

He shrugged. "We had to decide on it months ago. It was too late to change it after everything went…you know." Pulling out his phone, he took some pictures. "Anyway, assuming we all live, this will be funny as hell afterward."

"This kid has a great sense of humor," Alex said slapping him on the shoulder. "Plus, you should see how quickly he can field strip his weapon."

"Did she have you sign anything? Are you eighteen?" Maggie asked just a touch too seriously.

"No. Yes. What?" Shiriki's head was nodding, shaking, practically spinning in confusion.

"Bad government agent," Maggie said, tapping Alex on the nose with a finger.

"Hey, quit it. Kids nowadays need to think about their future," Alex said waving a hand in front of her face to chase away the offending digit.

"His future is all about getting through tonight. Kid, you go left and look for Sue. We'll go right. You and Alex trade numbers?" Maggie asked.

Shiriki nodded.

"Good, then whoever finds her first texts the other one. We're not going to make contact, just call you for backup. Everyone agreed?"

Alex and Shiriki were in agreement, and he went off in one direction while they moved to the right looking for Sue Smith. They moved around the outside of the gym, eyes scanning the crowd through the sea of bodies. Between the music and laughter, they wouldn't hear anyone or anything, so they both held their phones in a hand and their purses hanging from their shoulders.

When Maggie felt a tug on her arm, she looked where Alex was gesturing and shook her head. "Alex, no."

"Maggie, yes."

"That's not why we're here."

"So?" Alex said with a shrug. "Come on. We're at your old high school, and it's the prom. Just relax, smile, have fun."

Yanking Alex back, Maggie practically hissed in her ear, "We're in the middle of an invasion."

Still smiling, Alex's face and voice didn't falter as she said, "I know, and you know, but everyone is having a nice night out. We're supposed to be having a nice night out. Now come on and act like everyone else. Blend. In. Come on. I saw other chaperones doing it."

"We're going to die," Maggie mumbled as she let Alex pull her off to the side.

At one end of the room, a backdrop was set up. The line for photos had just dissipated, and Maggie and Alex were able to stand in front of the scene of the globe that was set up, smiling when the photographer said, 'Say Cheese!' He was someone else local, of course. The photographer said something nice, something complimentary about them, and they moved along, still looking for Sue.

"Anything?" Maggie asked.

"Still nothing," Alex replied. "Let's cut across the middle of the gym. Maybe she's out there or at the other end."

"I'm not sure we should just walk across…what are you doing?" Maggie asked as Alex pulled the smaller woman into her arms.

"It's called dancing," Alex replied, turning them both as she looked around the gym. "I know you've done it before. I've done it with you."

"Alex, this isn't a joke."

"That's why I'm not laughing. Look around. Do you see her anywhere? I'm going to try and move us across the floor. Just let me lead already."

Maggie snorted. "In your dreams. You're taller. You look for her. I'll watch out for teenagers."

They made their way across the dance floor. Alex kept a look out while Maggie skillfully moved them between the other couples.

"Damn, Danvers, you're really beautiful," Maggie said smiling up at Alex.

"You're supposed to be watching out for other dancers," Alex replied with a slight scowl.

"I'm capable of looking up at my beautiful girlfriend and not knocking down any high school students, thank you very much. Mmmm, girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Alex glanced at Maggie before returning to her inspection of the room. "Don't you mean fiancée?"

"Yeah, but I just realized I'm at my high school, at the prom, dancing with my girlfriend. I never thought this could happen. I mean, it didn't happen. I thought I knew how this would happen, but I was wrong. I was close, but I was wrong."

Eyes narrowed, Alex looked at the smirk on Maggie's face and said, "Okay, I'll bite. How did you think you'd be able to go to prom with your girlfriend?"

"Over my father's dead body," Maggie replied smoothly. "Invasion of the body snatchers was a close second though."

"Well, I'm glad your father didn't have to die to make this happen."

Maggie shrugged. "When he gets freed from this and realizes I've pretty much come out to the whole town, he may just have a heart attack anyway."

"You're such an optimist," Alex said with a sharp laugh. "Hey, you know I never got to go to prom with my girlfriend either. I guess we owe these aliens a thank you."

"Well, I'd add them to my Christmas list, but…"

"Right, they better not still be around for Christmas."

Though Alex continued to scan the room, Maggie leading her around so they could cover the area, they also danced. It wasn't just the agent and the cop who were scoping out the area and looking for the one person who could help them end the threat that endangered the Earth this week. They were two women who loved each other but whose love had been denied by society, either directly by anger and rejection from their loved ones or through heterosexual normality that made someone reject their own feelings, subvert their own true self, and step inside the box they assumed was the one into which they had to fit even though it was never comfortable. So they danced at a prom for the teenagers they once were who had never had the opportunity to truly be themselves. They held each other and loved each other openly and without fear, and maybe if one or two kids here saw them and realized they weren't alone, they weren't wrong, well then they danced for them too.

Pushing up slightly on her toes, Alex tipped her head back for a moment. "Hey."

"You see something?" Maggie asked.

"Punch bowl, two o'clock," Alex replied.

"What? Where?" Maggie asked, turning them.

"No, don't…my two o'clock," Alex replied, turning them back. "You're too short."

"These damn kids are too tall," Maggie replied. "You sure it's her?"

"It's her."

"Text him. Get him over there. I'm going to dip you."

"What?!" Eyes flashing even while she began to text, Alex shook her head quickly. "Do not even try that. You will drop me on my ass. I swear to fucking God Maggie Sawyer, if you—!"

Laughing, Maggie said, "Damn, Danvers, you should see your face. You're all like, 'Jesus H. Christ Maggie!' You looked scared."

With a half growl, Alex said, "I sent the text. I'm kicking your ass when this is all over."

"Does that cost extra?"

"Oh, it's going to cost you plenty."

"Good," Maggie replied, pulling Alex close and kissing her right there while they stood in the middle of the gym floor. "I never got to do that in high school either. There are a lot of things that are better about being an adult."

"Yeah, well…later, more of that later. I see Shiriki. He's talking to Sue."

They watched them talk in what looked to be whispers for a moment. Though her fear was obvious, Sue nodded. Maggie and Alex made their way to the other two, everyone nodding.

"We all good?" Maggie asked.

"Sue will go with us," Shiriki replied.

"We need to go now," Alex said.

"My daughter's here. I need to tell her I'm leaving."

When Sue tried to step away, Maggie grabbed her arm. "Is she…?"

Looking around briefly, Sue said, "She's like us."

Maggie nodded. "Hurry and make sure no one overhears you. She can keep this quiet while we're gone?"

"We've been waiting for this. We're prepared. Wait, when this…happens, people won't become violent, will they?" Sue asked.

Alex shook her head. "We know someone who's seen this happen before. Those affected will be disoriented for a short period, but they'll be fine. They'll even have their full memories from this time. The biggest issue will be explaining what happened to the town. For now, just go speak with your daughter. We'll meet you by the exit to the gym."

When Sue left, Maggie, Alex, and Shiriki headed to the gym exit and waited for her. They had only been there briefly when a blonde girl in a pink dress walked up to them.

"Hey, Shiriki. I didn't think you were coming tonight. You look good. I like your suit," the blonde girl said.

"Oh, uh…" Shiriki swallowed hard, pulling his collar away from his throat with one finger while he gulped down air. "Thanks?" His voice cracked, and he cleared it repeating in his normal register, "Thanks, thanks, Amanda."

"So, do you want to dance?" Amanda asked.

"Dance? Me? I…oh." Shiriki had gone from excited to deflated over the course of less than a second. "I can't. I'm actually leaving."

"Oh, well, are you coming back?"

"M…maybe?"

"We gotta go," Maggie said bumping Shiriki's arm as she saw Sue heading their way.

He nodded. "I've gotta…bye, Amanda."

"See you around?" Amanda asked.

"For sure," he replied, turning and half tripping as he left.

As they stepped outside the gym, Alex put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "You know what girls really dig? Guys that save the world."

"The…world?" He asked, turning slowly to look at her.

"The world," she repeated, slapping his shoulder one more time before releasing him. "Let's motor. We have something stupidly heroic to do. It's kind of our shtick."


	9. 9 - We Did it for Her

The drive to the bank was non-eventful. Kuruk cleared his throat once when Shiriki's eyes began to wander towards the ladies struggling a bit to change in the limited space in the back seat. Eyes snapping forward, the teen didn't repeat his behavior. The group parked around the corner from their destination, popping the trunk to arm themselves in preparation for their mission. Kuruk and Shiriki's job was to guard Sue who had the code in hand and memorized, and was the only one who could actually get into the vault. She was the person who couldn't fall. Maggie and Alex would punch a hole and keep the group moving forward.

Alex and Maggie handed over the pistols they'd been using to Kuruk and Shiriki. Both were modeled off of the one Alex had gotten on Slaver's Moon. They looked very similar to a standard handgun in their basic shape. When powered up, blue energy could be seen along the squared off barrel and glowing from the tip. Likewise, they would emit a burst of energy as opposed to a projectile with any physical mass. The DEO had found ways to increase and decrease the level of energy put out through dampeners, and the weapons could be set between levels of one and five. One was for a normal human. A setting of five would get the attention of a Supergirl level threat. Though they didn't want to kill anyone, they put their weapons on five. If it meant killing a half dozen people to save the planet so be it, and if anything less didn't stop these folks, this might be the end of the mission.

Maggie and Alex pulled out their own weapons, something they called rifles but that no one familiar with Earth rifles would agree deserved the term. These 'rifles' were more like rounded triangles, wider at the front and narrower at the back. The curve in the front was mirrored by the curve behind which slide easily into the shoulder. As it flared out, it had several areas for gripping above and below the double barrels that were set horizontally along the weapon. It hung on a strap from the shoulder and was mainly black except for the silver barrels that ran the length of the weapon. Though people oohed and aahed at them, no one mentioned that they were prototypes that had been tested but never used in a live mission.

As the trunk closed, Sue looked around and asked, "Where's my weapon?"

"You don't need one," Alex replied, pushing a button as her energy weapon hummed and she checked the readout. "Your job is just to open the vault. You won't be fighting."

"If your job was to open the vault, would you go in there unarmed?" Sue countered.

Alex's head snapped up from her weapon, leveling a stare at the other woman.

With a slow chuckle that seemed inappropriate for the situation, Maggie touched Alex's arm until her fiancée looked at her and then said, "Babe, she's got you there. No way you'd go into this place unarmed. You don't like going to the bathroom unarmed."

"Read the statistics. Bathrooms are the most dangerous room in the home," Alex grumbled. "Okay, fine. You can have a weapon. You know how to handle one?"

As Alex opened the trunk again and popped the hidden compartment on the trunk, Sue said, "Give me the .357. It's got better stopping power than the shotgun."

Alex opened her mouth to respond, but Maggie clapped her shoulder and said, "That's one thing you get used to growing up around here. We know our firearms."

"Apparently," Alex responded, pulling out the weapon and ammo.

In short order, the group was good to go. Sue had agreed to hang back, wearing the C-4 in a backpack. Though she didn't like it, she knew she was the person who was critical to the mission. She also had the most limited shots. The plan was simple. Sue would unlock the bank. The group would walk in and open fire as soon as they'd gotten the six townsfolk who were guarding the vault altogether. Maggie planned to spin a tale about the mayor, her dad, needing them for something. They knew the group wouldn't let them near the vault, but they figured they could get a few words in and then opened fire. They gave their odds about a 50/50 split on working out well versus it all going to hell in a hand basket.

Outside the bank, keys in hand, Sue turned to them and said, "Ready?"

There was nodding, and then Kuruk replied, "This is battle. If we do not have victory this day, our land may fall. Let us pray in the way of our people."

Maggie and Alex looked at each other, but Sue and Shiriki nodded. Kuruk was the only one who spoke, his face raised toward the sky, so Maggie and Alex merely stood with their heads tipped back slightly, listening with respect.

"Oh, Eagle; come with wings outspread in sunny skies. Oh, Eagle, come and bring us peace, thy gentle peace. Oh, Eagle, come and give new life to us who pray. Remember the circle of the sky; the stars, and the brown eagle, the great life of the Sun, the young within the nest. Remember the sacredness of things." Kuruk nodded then, and Sue unlocked the door. Just like that, it began.

The bank was fairly standard looking. The lobby was large with a green marble floor with gray veins running through it. Several white columns rose from floor to the tall ceiling. Further back were the teller booths. There was a section to the far right that led to the back, and Sue had the keys to that. There was a long corridor down there, with reinforced walls that should offer them some protection. At the end of that hallway was another reinforced door to which Sue could gain entry with her key. Beyond that was the vault. Alex and Maggie would try and hold everyone else off while the others made their way to the vault. That was the plan at least.

Upon entering the lobby, they immediately saw motion from within the bank. Kuruk and Shiriki had no problem keeping a hand with a weapon behind their backs. For Alex and Maggie, it was more complicated. Their weapons hung from straps on their shoulders, and their bodies were used to obfuscate them as much as possible. Sue's hand was also behind her back with weapon in hand, though the four people in front of her also did much to keep things hidden.

Three people came forward, two men and a woman. None looked physically impressive, though the non-infected humans knew looks were deceiving with this group. The infection in their system made them all superhuman.

The woman in the group spoke up and asked, "Why are you here? The bank is closed."

"I'm Maggie, Chuck Sawyer's daughter. My fiancée, Alex here, is in the FBI. It's a good thing too because we got some intel that the military intercepted one of the trucks heading out of town. My dad is worried about security here. He's on his way over, but he wants everyone waiting here for him. Aren't there supposed to be six of you?"

"Well, yes but—"

"No buts," Alex said to the woman. "We need all six of you in the main room when Mayor Sawyer shows up. The rest of the council is on their way over too. I've told my work that Maggie and I are about seventy miles outside of town and due here tomorrow. We might need to leave to keep getting information, but that's up to the council. Look, just get everyone out here. We're doing as we're told. You do as you're told. We need to work together."

The infected trio looked at each other and then nodded before the woman called out, "Elroy, Cameron, Denise, get in here! We've got a situation!"

Slowly, three more people entered the main part of the bank coming from three different directions.

"What's going on?" One of the newcomers, a man, asked. "Trouble?"

"One of the trucks got taken," The woman who had spoken originally replied. "The mayor's daughter says he and the council are on their way over here. They want us all together for some kind of briefing."

"What kind of briefing?" The other new man asked.

"Just all get together," Maggie asked, gesturing with her free hand. "My dad asked us to give you something while you wait for him."

They grouped up, and the woman who had originally spoken asked, "Okay, now what?"

Maggie looked over at Alex, then back at Kuruk and Shiriki, everyone nodding. She turned back to the woman saying, "This."

As a group, the non-infected humans, except for Sue, raised their weapons and opened fire. The reflexes of the infected humans might have been better, but they're thought processes weren't. Blue waves of energy coursed over the bodies of the six infected humans, crawling across their forms like ants on a piece of fruit left out after a picnic. Their screams were brief as their bodies arched, stiffening from the energy overload. After a few moments of shuddering in place, each one of them fell to the ground with a resounding and no doubt satisfying thud.

"Go, go!" Alex yelled, turning so she was moving toward the back of the bank though still facing out to the front of the building and the downed people. As she took cover behind a column, she noticed Maggie doing the same two columns over. "We'll cover you!"

Peeking from around her column, Alex breathed steadily as she stared at the downed infected humans. There was no way of knowing how long the bursts of energy would hold these people off. It could be a few minutes, maybe just one. She felt her breath hitch as perhaps fifteen seconds after the group had been dropped they all began to push up again, heads swiveling as they looked for their attackers. Pupils dilating, Alex waited until the first one looked in her direction before opening fire.

A second after she heard Alex begin to fire, Maggie was blasting away at one of the town's folks also. Two were dropped, and she hit a third but lost sight of another who had moved out of the way. As one moved quickly and repeatedly, she missed twice before finally hitting him. She hoped Alex had gotten the other two because the first one she hit was now up and moving again. It was a war of attrition and not one they looked likely to win.

Alex and Maggie fired repeatedly, but it became clear that two of them couldn't keep six of the things down. All too quickly their opponents were getting up faster than they could put them down. The infected people moved out of sight, and it got worse. Suddenly, someone fell on Alex from the side, hitting her and tossing her across the room to where she hit the floor and slid nearly into Maggie's feet. Turning to her right, Maggie shot the person out of the air who was leaping to land on Alex.

"You all right?" Maggie asked as Alex peeled herself up from the floor.

"Fuck," Alex replied slowly. "Good thing I'm wearing a vest. Those things do hit like my sister. That will leave a bruise. We should pull—"

In a split second, Maggie was gone, pinned up against the wall by another infected human. Sidearm in hand, Alex emptied three rounds into the person's left knee, making her drop to the floor. When she'd let go of Maggie, Alex shot her with the energy weapon.

"Pull back, like I was saying. You okay?" Alex asked.

"Let's just get to the others," Maggie replied clearing her throat.

They headed down the corridor toward the vault, walking backward side-by-side and firing at anything that showed up in their sights. All too quickly, their foes followed. The infected humans ran at them, dashing so quickly they were little more than blurs. Their speed allowed them to literally run along the walls as they passed anyone who had been dropped by a burst of energy. The narrow passageway provided some protection for the retreating duo but not enough. They moved and fired, dropping each of their opponents again and again, but the infected humans just kept coming. Unlike the energy in their weapons, or themselves, their opponents were a seemingly endless resource.

"Go, I'll cover you," Alex said breathing hard.

"You need to set the C-4," Maggie replied, her breathing equally compromised as she pulled the trigger and released another burst of power. "I'll cover you."

Seemingly at an impasse, they glanced at each other, both firing as they continued to back up.

"Fine, we'll cover each other. We're making headway," Alex said, no more willing to leave Maggie than Maggie was to leave her.

"We're in!" Kuruk called from someplace that was gratefully close to them.

"I'm out," Maggie said letting her weapon sling loosely from her shoulder as she pulled two pistols and started firing at knees. "Kuruk, we could use some help here!" Seconds later, energy began to surge over Maggie's shoulder, making her grateful to be short. "Alex, go!"

"No! I'm not—!"

"Set the C-4!" Maggie argued. "Just do it!"

Hesitating for only a moment, Alex turned and sprinted toward the vault. She yelled to Shiriki, "Go help them!" Before she slid to her knees at the backpack and began to set the charges. She could hear the unmistakable sound of a .357 being fired, letting her know that Sue had also joined in the fight now that the vault was open.

 _"_ _Why do you resist evolution?"_

Alex's nimble fingers paused in their work on the wires for just a moment before she shook her head, shaking off the voice that tickled at the edge of her hearing before she went back to setting the charges again.

 _"_ _You are a violent race, hurtful of the other races on this planet, hurtful of each other. You need to be curbed in your ways. You need to be gentled. Free reign is not appropriate for beings such as you. Your world will appreciate our guidance."_

Fingers frozen in place again, Alex felt the voice creeping up the back of her mind. She couldn't disagree with what it was saying. Humans really were violent, hurting each other, hurting aliens, hurting animals. As a human, she understood just how cruel they could be.

 _"_ _Yes, yes, relax. You want what's best for your people. You want what's best for your world. Paradise is a word your kind uses, and together that can come to pass. We can work to eradicate disease, make a human race that is stronger and healthier than would ever have come to pass naturally. You want that, don't you, Alex? You want to help end human suffering?"_

Nodding, Alex replied, "Yes."

 _"_ _Of course you do. You're a warrior. I can feel that, but at your core you're a healer. The role of a warrior, a protector, has been forced on you because of your family. You don't want to keep hurting people though do you, Alex? You don't want to keep doing harm when you can end the suffering of billions of people, do you?"_

"No, no, I don't," Alex agreed.

 _"_ _Who would? Now, open yourself up to me completely. Open your mind up to me completely and stop resisting. Let me see why you're here, what you're planning."_

Alex felt the vestiges of her willpower slipping away as the sounds of battle faded with it. The voice became a presence, strong and dominating. It wasn't threatening. It knew better. She was certain of that. She felt herself weighed and measured and knew it was with disappointment.

 _"_ _Oh, my. That's quite a lot of explosives. That's not very nice, Alexandra. So violent you humans are, so very violent, but we'll fix that. No more violence at the hands of each other. Aliens, though, so many of those on this planet already. That won't do. We'll deal with that. Your arrival was very timely. You were very clever to be able to stop our hosting process, but also have active markers in yourself this way. I would never have discovered you had you not acted so violently. I'm disappointed in you but also proud. You're a clever girl aren't you?"_

"Yes…clever," Alex replied, smiling, grateful for this compliment.

 _"_ _Good girl. Stand up and come to me now. Bring me what you have there. Then you're going to take care of your friends outside. Come on, come to me. It will be fine. Soon you and your whole family will be part of me. We'll all be one family. You'll be at peace with your family."_

"My…family," Alex said, swaying as she began to rise, another thought tickling at the back of her mind and trying to punch its way through the serenity in which she was wrapped.

 _"_ _Yes."_

"My family?" Alex repeated, thoughts of who her family was running through her mind. Her mother and father were there of course, but then there was Kara. The family she made at the DEO filled in, and that included J'onn. Her family wasn't just the people from Earth who had birthed her; it was the tribe she had found along the way. It wasn't blood. It was love. It was…It was…

"Alex! Alex! We're getting overrun out here! Set the fucking C-4 already!"

"Maggie," Alex whispered, that one thought popping the bubble that had formed around her consciousness and snapping her back to the present as the sounds of the fight behind her crashed over her like an ocean wave. "Maggie I'm…I'm on it! I'm almost there!"

Bearing down, Alex ignored the push on her mind that continued. She concentrated on the people she loved, that needed her, on her family. She concentrated on the woman in the other room with whom she was going to make a life, almost smiling at that thought despite the heart pounding terror of this moment. She set the final fuse and attached the firing mechanism, setting the charges for one minute before starting it all.

Closing the bag, Alex lifted her face and tossed it at the HOLY FUCK THAT'S A REALLY BIG PLANT! She yelled, "Thanks for the prom!" The bag slid neatly across the floor to where the giant, GIANT plant sat nearly touching the vault ceiling under the grow lights on a big bed of soil. Its four center pieces were pulled apart at the top revealing a bright orange center, and several red tendrils flowed out and curled at the ends. The foliage at its base was huge, each several feet across. The vines were as thick around as Alex's torso and slapped on the ground threateningly. Alex barely took that in as she was already on her way out the door, her fingers punching the code into the pad as instructed which would cause the vault to close in twenty seconds as she yelled, "RUN!"

Turning, Alex saw things were in chaos. Running wouldn't be as easy as she hoped, though she didn't expect it to be easy, to be honest. Maggie must have reloaded at some point because she was still firing. Shiriki was down but shooting, so either he or someone got the person who knocked him down. Kuruk was pressed up against the wall, and Sue was slamming the person that was holding him against the wall repeatedly in the head with Maggie's powered down energy weapon. Alex cringed. That was an expensive fucking prototype but a good cause.

Shooting quickly, Alex took down two of the up infected people, and her team was able to take down the other two leaving none of the foes still standing. She grabbed Shirki and pulled him to his feet on the way by, taking brief note of the big gash running across the top of the kids head that was bleeding all the way down the left side of his face. As someone twitched on their way by she shot them and thought the thud she heard behind her was Sue clubbing another. Alex thought she might just have to try and recruit the whole tribe here based on the ones she'd met so far, though they had plenty of good reasons to not want to get involved with officials from the U.S. government.

They'd made it about fifty feet when an explosion rocked the area, knocking them all to the floor. They turned, looking around to see the two infected people still on their feet slowing in their pursuit, then stopping, swaying slightly before falling to knees. Obvious confusion crossed their faces as they looked around, eyes unfocused. There were moans of pain from those who hadn't fully recovered while the alien infection was still on them.

"I think they're clean, but we'll need blood tests to be sure," Alex said, not lowering her weapon.

Walking up to the two who were rising from knees to standing, Maggie put a hand on one of their shoulders and said, "Elroy Delray?"

"Ye…Yeah?" He replied.

"Just checking," she replied, then she punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground where he squirmed around, moaning and holding his bleeding nose. "Okay, they're not infected anymore."

"Maggie," Alex said, obviously a little bit shocked. "Was that really necessary?"

"Oh, I went to school with Elroy. It was necessary. Plus, I'm fucking tired. Now we know, and a punch in the face is all this town is worth to me. Well, most of it," Maggie said with a head gesture toward, Sue, Kuruk, and Shiriki.

"Fine. I'll call the DEO and let them know we're good pending additional blood work. They can call off General Lane. I'll need to see if we can get back into the vault and get some pictures to confirm the kill. Try not to punch anyone else while I do that."

"No promises," Maggie replied.

Shaking her head, Alex said, "Sue, you're with me. I'll need you to let me into the vault assuming it still opens."

"If it doesn't?" Sue asked.

"Then I've got Supergirl on speed dial."

Sue laughed, then looking at Alex's face said, "Wait, you're serious."

"Usually," Alex replied walking away.

"What's going on?" The woman who had been checking on Elroy stood and asked Maggie. "I mean, for weeks now we've been…We've felt…Something's been really wrong with us. I think I may have killed someone."

"Uh…look, this explanation is outside my pay grade. Some big government types are going to come and explain about something that got into your water or…I don't know. I really don't care, to tell you the truth. Just don't kill anyone else. Oh, also, don't be mean to queer kids. The Bible says to love everyone. You have no right to judge people, especially if you killed someone. Remember that." Maggie stared until the woman nodded slowly. "Better."

Maggie grabbed the medical kit from the car, providing some basic first aid to the injured parties while Kuruk called 911 for an ambulance from the local fire department. The vault no longer opened. Whether it was structurally damaged or just the electronics blown from the blast was anyone's guess. Alex texted a jubilant DEO who no doubt let a disappointed General Lane know that we wouldn't get to blow up any innocent civilians.

Alex crouched by Shiriki while he held pressure against his head wound and asked, "Is it still bleeding?" As he pulled back the gauze, she nodded and said, "Just keep the pressure on it for a while longer. That's going to need some stitches."

"Do you think it will leave a scar?" He asked.

"Honestly?" She replied. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. But, you know what girls like better than heroes who save the world?"

"What?"

"Heroes who save the world and get scars doing it," she replied. "Do you have Amanda's number?"

He shook his head.

"Ask for it, and you will," she advised. "Then take the girl out on a date already. You're young, but you've seen how short life can be. If you like her, ask her out."

"Yeah, but if you want to kiss her, ask her first," Maggie said from where she tended the wounds of the person next to them.

Sighing, Alex said, "I was super new and super gay, okay? I've apologized. How many times are you going to bring that up?"

"Life's full of mysteries," Maggie replied with a grin. "I hear the ambulance. I'll let them know where we are."

Back at Maggie's parent's house, Alex put the last of their gear back into the trunk of the SUV. She was sore, but she was looking forward to heading back to the airport and going home. She'd had many hard missions in her life, but this was one of the toughest. Alex was glad Maggie had been here, but at the same time, Maggie's emotional state had made it difficult. Usually, Maggie was Alex's rock. It was odd to have their roles reversed. It was also good. That was partnership. It wasn't a 50/50 thing. Sometimes it was, but more often it was 70/30, 10/90, 20/80, 75/25. You gave and took what was needed, but it wasn't always in equal measure.

Walking up to the porch, Alex smiled to see Maggie standing there with beers in hand.

"We're going to drink and drive?"

"We're going to each drink a cold beer before we head out, at least that's my plan," Maggie said dropping down on the porch swing and lifting a Tupperware container. "Also, I got you some doughnuts for the trip."

"I don't deserve you," Alex said, dropping onto the seat next to Maggie.

"Truer words have never been uttered," Maggie said clinking her beer bottle against Alex's and taking a swig.

They sat quietly for several minutes, enjoying the cool night air, the chirping crickets, the lack of imminent alien dominance over all human life on Earth. They didn't know how long they'd have until this kind of night was a thing of memory, so they didn't take it for granted. Shoulder to shoulder, heads slightly lolled together, it looked like an idyllic scene from the outside. Girlfriends, fiancées, sitting together and enjoying a cold beer as the last of the warmth of the day disappeared. It was love, acceptance, and partnership, how the world should be even if it wasn't. It was how home should feel even if it were a little bubble that would pop at the slightest pressure. For these few moments, they'd enjoy living inside that bubble. Some of life's greatest moments were encapsulated memories when society told you that you weren't welcome.

"You know, this used to be one of my favorite places when I was a kid. I'd drink lemonade and sit out here, looking up at the stars. I always loved them, the stars. They made me feel connected to the rest of this world. I used to imagine the people on other parts of the planet looking at the same stars as me, looking to connect with someone too, and I'd feel less alone. I always thought one day I'd meet some of them, and they'd be more like me than the people I lived with."

"Did you have that little fantasy that you were adopted?" Alex asked.

"Nah. I look like my mom. I had fantasies about her cheating on my dad and him not being my dad, that maybe she was staying with him out of penance, but I knew it wasn't true." Maggie looked over at Alex. "How sad is it that my childhood fantasies were that my mother was an adulteress?"

Not wanting to respond to that, Alex said, "You know, we don't have to go home right away. I have plenty of time accrued after this. I'm sure J'onn can fix it with your work, too. Maybe you should stay and try and fix things with your folks. They're your family."

"I…" Grinning, Maggie shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea, babe."

"Honey, you only get one family. This could be a second chance. You just saved them. Hell, you just saved the whole world. Maybe this is going to put things into perspective."

"You don't know them," Maggie countered.

"I started to get to know them. Maybe if we spent some more time here, we could all get to know each other."

Before Maggie could reply, her mother opened the screen door and said, "Miel?"

"Yeah, Mamá," Maggie replied, "We're just finishing our drinks. We're all packed up."

"Actually, we were just talking about staying," Alex said as she stood. "You know, getting to know each other a bit better. Maybe it's time to mend fences."

"Alex, no," Maggie tried again.

"Miel, necesitas salir antes—" As Chuck's big truck pulled into the driveway, she stopped talking and blessed herself. "Madre de Dios. You two need to go."

"We're going," Maggie said as she stood, depositing her mostly empty beer bottle on the railing and waving with one arm for Alex to follow as she made her way to the SUV. "Come on, Alex."

"What's going on?" Alex asked as she put down her bottle and watched Chuck walk up toward the house. "Maggie, what's going on?"

"We're leaving. Let's go.

"Yeah, I got that, but—"

"I told your mother you weren't to be here when I got home. Get off my property," Chuck Sawyer said.

Stiffening, Maggie didn't make eye contact as she said, "We were just leaving. Have a nice life."

Instead of following Maggie to the SUV, Alex charged at Chuck yelling, "Are you fucking kidding me!? She just came down here and risked her life to save your ass, and you're kicking her off your property!? Why!?"

Refusing to make eye contact with Alex, Chuck said, "Maggie, get your person off my property."

"Her person? Her person!?"

"Alex, don't," Maggie sighed.

One finger raised at Maggie's father's face, Alex said, "Her person is about five seconds from laying you out with just her index finger you homophobic asshole!"

"Margarita, if you don't get your person in line, I'll call the police," Chuck warned.

"I'm the FBI, you idiot," Alex countered. "Call the cops if you want."

"Alex, forget him. He won't call anyone. He won't call them because he doesn't want a scene with his queer daughter. He just wants me to leave quietly. He just wants to forget I exist. He hopes everyone in this town forgets I exist. That's why I had to leave town in the first place." Sighing, Maggie said, "Come on, Alex. Let's just go. These people aren't worth our time."

"No," Alex replied. "I can't accept that. Maggie, we came down here and almost died…God, I don't even know how many times we almost died to save your parents' lives. I'm covered in bruises. You're covered in bruises. You haven't had a real meal in days. We're both exhausted, and now I'm totally pissed off. We're here because they matter to you. We're not going anywhere!"

"They matter to me? You think we came down here because they matter to me?" Maggie asked as she walked back over to Alex. Shaking her head, Maggie said, "We're not here because these people matter to me. These people tossed me out like the trash when I was fourteen. They called around, and my aunt had to get on a plane and come and get me, like the trash collector. I don't know what would have happened to me if not for her. Maybe they just would have dropped me off in another town, maybe a city with some money. I honestly don't know."

"You're kidding." Alex looked from Maggie to her father and mother who had come to stand by him, not getting any answers, so looking at Maggie again Alex asked, "Okay, so if we're not here for them, why are we here?"

"It doesn't matter," Chuck Sawyer chirped up. "Your kind isn't—"

Spinning, Alex dropped the Tupperware and pulled back her jacket, pointing to her firearm with her free hand. "Special Agent Alex Danvers, FBI! I'm trying to have a God damn conversation with my girlfriend here if you don't mind. I'm in pain, fucking exhausted, armed and dangerous. I blew up the last bitch who got in my way, and I liked her better than either of you at this moment. I'm really regretting saving your lives, so don't make me do something about that. Are we all clear on what that means?" Pointing at her firearm again, Alex bulged her eyes for emphasis.

Letty grabbed her husband's arm, holding on for security. Chuck didn't respond, and that in itself was an answer.

Turning back to Maggie, Alex shook her head and said, "I'm sorry. Where were we?"

"Did you just threaten to kill my parents?"

Rolling her eyes, Alex replied, "Well…they were rude first."

"Clearly," Maggie agreed. "You dropped your doughnuts."

"Oh." Grabbing the container from the ground, Alex shrugged. "I'm hungry too. Okay, so if we're not here for them, and I have to admit I'm good with that answer, why are we here, babe?"

Maggie looked thoughtful, but it seemed like she was just trying to articulate something that had long since come to her. Licking her lips, she replied, "When I was a kid, I was scared. I wasn't scared because I thought someone was going to hit me, hurt me, or anything like that, but I knew my family's love was conditional. The less I did what they wanted, was the person they wanted me to be, the more I knew I wasn't loved. When I started to understand who I really was, I knew they wouldn't love me. I just hoped I could find someone who would. I just wanted to find someone like me who would love me for who I really was. I wanted to find…my Alex."

Nodding, Alex's eyes blurred as she blinked back tears, but she said nothing.

"I know the odds. I know how many kids are in this town and that not all of them are straight. Somewhere there's a girl who's just like I was. She spends every day hoping no one will notice her noticing the other girls. Showers after gym class are the worst, and she worries about being too good at some sport. I know she's here, and I know she just has to make it through a few more years, and then she can get the hell out of here. That whole 'It gets better' thing, it's not crap, and if she holds on her life will get a fuckload better. She'll find amazing friends, a fantastic tribe that will be her real family, and she'll find her own Alex." Maggie nodded to herself, letting that sink in. "Yeah, we didn't come down here to save these two, we did it for that kid. We did it for her. Come on, Alex. Let's get out of here."

As Maggie and Alex turned and began to walk away, Chuck said, "Don't come back, Maggie. This town isn't welcoming to your sort."

"Her sort?" Alex asked, her head snapping around sharply in warning again.

"We're Christian. That's how I was raised. We raised her better," Letty said as if that explained anything.

"Really, and how was your sister raised, Mamá? I went to church with her, and she's Christian, but I didn't know unconditional love until I left my own house, and my aunt took me in. She taught me a lot of things, and one of them is that going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. For the record, you two make much better cars than Christians." Maggie reached the SUV but stopped by the passenger door, letting Alex get in the driver's side but saying, "Oh, and dad, don't worry about us coming back. It won't happen. It won't matter though. The whole town knows. Your secret is out."

"People won't believe it," Chuck said. "There was an alien invasion here. I can explain it. Just get."

"So you can go back to stealing land from people? That won't be happening anymore either. As a matter of fact, alien controlled you was nice enough to give me access to your computer. My friends in the government copied your whole system. Apparently, you've been up to quite a lot of shady business over the years. It seems like the whole town council has. Feel free to panic and try and destroy evidence, but the case against you has been under investigation for more than a day now. You're fucked." Briefly enjoying her dad's pallor, Maggie grinned, then sat in the vehicle and said to Alex, "Can we drive by the water tower on the way out. I'd like to see it once more before we leave."

"You got it, babe," Alex said leaning across and kissing Maggie before she started the vehicle. "I can have the DEO get some pictures of it in daylight if you'd like. It sounds like the city council may have more important things to worry about than repainting that thing."

Maggie laughed. "Yeah, that would be nice. Take me home and don't worry about the speed limit. My fiancée is an FBI agent."


	10. 10 - Epilogue

It had been over a month since the Blue Springs invasion. As Maggie had predicted, a full-scale investigation was underway of the council members in Blue Springs, and it had spread into Wymore. Kara was even running an article series about corruption in small town America, and it featured some pretty specific data about particular people. Assets had been frozen as the investigation was underway. To say it wasn't looking good for most of the Sawyer family was honey coating things.

Since the Blue Spring invasion, life in National City had returned to normal so hectic and dangerous. The city was being rebuilt, and things were dangerous for aliens in the wake of the Daxam invasion. Both the DEO and the Science Division of the NCPD both did their parts to calm concerns and restore the peace. It was slow going, but at least it was going.

"Hey, you're late," Alex said as Maggie got home from work. They had moved in together less than a month ago, and it was still such a treat to come home to their place together. "You called and said you were leaving work nearly thirty minutes ago. Was it traffic or an incident?"

"I had to head to the manager's office," Maggie replied. "Apparently, we had something in the mail today that required a signature, so he had to sign for it."

"That took fifteen minutes?" Maggie said, stirring pasta sauce.

Kissing Alex on the cheek, Maggie sighed into the other woman, then inhaled her scent. "Mmmm. You and the sauce both smell delicious. Sorry, didn't realize I was talking that long. I'm chatty. Were you worried?"

"Nah. Maybe. This is a dangerous town."

"I'm a cop."

"I'm a worrier," Alex replied, dumping the pasta into the boiling water. "So, what came in the mail?"

"Don't know. It's a big envelope."

"You should open it."

Hand to her chest, Maggie feigned a gasp. "Wow that fancy education of yours was good for something. Huh, it's from Wymore, Nebraska. That's weird. It's from the high school there."

She didn't notice Alex looking over as she opened it. Inside were dozens of smaller envelopes of varying sizes with her and Alex's names hand written on them. There was also an envelope, larger than the rest, thicker and more substantial, with their names on a label. She dumped everything on the counter, going directly to the largest of the envelopes. It had a piece of cardboard backing and a picture against it along with yet another envelope within. As Maggie picked up the picture, she smiled deeply, her dimples making an appearance.

"Okay, well that's a good sign," Alex noted. "What's got you so happy?"

Holding up the picture Maggie said, "It's us from that picture thing at the prom. They sent it to us. We look good too."

"Hey, yeah!" Alex noted wiping her hands on a small dish towel before coming over to inspect things. "Okay, my hair looks better than I thought it would. I'm glad we got this picture done before the fight at the bank. I looked like shit after that."

Maggie laughed, attaching the photo with a magnetic clip to the fridge. She took out a beer and said, "You looked awesome. We both did. There's something about stopping an alien invasion with an ample supply of C-4 that brings out a woman's natural beauty. Beer?"

"I won't say no to that."

"I thought so," Maggie replied handing over another beer before she made her way back to the counter as she started to go through the letters splayed out there. She picked up the other one that had come with the picture.

"So, what's the rest of this?" Alex asked.

Maggie read the other letter twice, not quite sure she was comprehending what she was reading. Her brows furrowed, and her lips pursed more with each moment.

"Babe, are you okay?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, but…okay, this is awesome but weird," Maggie said, finally making eye contact with her fiancée. "So the prom committee took a vote, and they named us honorary queen and queen of the prom."

"They did what?" Alex asked, beer paused at her lips.

Maggie held up a small card, a piece of card stock with their names on it in fancy penmanship. "Babe, you're prom queen."

Alex snorted, placing the back of her hand to her nose. "Sorry, I mean that's cool and so sweet of them. It just feels… Does that feel weird?"

"Mega weird but so sweet. I'm right there with you. It's adorable that they got together and did this for us. I'm sure they have a regular king and queen, but my little high school in the Midwest has a gay queen and queen too. That's…yeah. I don't have words for that."

"Progress," Alex supplied. "We're adults, and it might seem a little weird to us, but to the next gay or bisexual or whatever kid who comes along, we broke a barrier. That could make a difference. I'm not saying things will be easy, things never seem to be in high school, but maybe things could be a little bit easier now. One generation at a time, we make a difference, right?"

"Cheers," Maggie said clanking her beer bottle against Alex's. "I'll drink to that."

"Me too, but I'll drink to pretty much anything."

Not commenting, Maggie began to go through the letters on the table while Alex gave attention to the sauce and pasta. They were letters from kids at the school, thank you letters. Maggie smiled reading some out loud to Alex so they could share in them. They took turns reading them over dinner. They were sweet, grateful, and kind. Maggie had originally been worried when she was told that J'onn couldn't alter the memories of so many who had known so much for so long. Between Blue Springs and Wymore, it was over 1,700 people who'd been infected. With this coming on the heels of the televised invasion of National City, it was decided that the best story to go with was the truth…mostly the truth. Aliens had invaded, and two humans had shown up to work with some other locals to save the day. The details of the near destruction of the town, or the fact that this alien was known to be able to take over whole planets, those details were left out. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

While Alex read one letter, Maggie opened another, her smile fading just a few lines in.

 _Dear Miss Sawyer,_

 _My name is Hannah and I'm a freshman here at Wymore. We're supposed to write to you and thank you for saving our town. Thanks. I'm grateful. I have questions though. The kids here said that you and Agent Danvers are really dating. Like she's your girlfriend. My teacher said no cause girls don't date girls. Jenny's brother is a senior and he said you kissed her at prom. We heard about the water tower and I rode out and saw it before the council painted it. That looked real. I was just curious if it was real or if it was fake. Is she your girlfriend or were you pretending because of the aliens? I'm going to put my cellphone number here. Our teachers said we could do it if our parents said we could in case you wanted to call us. So if you want to call me it's okay. You don't have to. I'm just curious._

 _Your Friend,_

 _Hannah Eldridge_

Looking at the cellphone number neatly printed across the bottom of the page, Maggie held her body still against the tremor that ran inside her. She carefully slid her phone from the side table as she rose and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes. I've got to make a call."

"Okay," Alex said, not breaking line of sight with the letter in front of her. Laughing she added, "This kid sent a picture of his dog. So cute. I'm going to save it for Kara."

Going to the bedroom, Maggie sat on the edge of the bed as she dialed the number Hannah had provided. On the third ring, it was answered.

A voice, young and female, said, "Hello?"

"Hey, is this Hannah?" There was a pause, so Maggie added, "This is Detective Maggie Sawyer from National City. I just got your letter, so I thought I'd give you a call."

"Oh, uh… hold on." There was the sound of footsteps, and then a door closing before the girl again said, "Yes, this is Hannah. Hello, Miss Sawyer, um, Detective Sawyer."

"Oh, hell kid. Just call me Maggie, okay? I'm not that old," Maggie said, forcing a smile onto her face and into her voice though she was nervous as hell.

The tiny bit of responding smile was priceless as Hannah said, "Okay, Maggie. Thank you for calling me. So, thanks for…saving us I guess?"

Maggie laughed, relaxing a little bit more as she slid until she was sitting properly on the mattress. "You're welcome I guess? No, seriously, you're welcome kid. It's my job though. I'm a cop. I serve, and I protect. I'm just glad I could be there. How are things going at school for you? Is anyone giving you trouble?"

"Not really. Just the usual. It's almost summer vacation, and everyone was being really nice to everyone because we were all under the influence of Veggie Tales for a while there."

"Veggie Tales?" Maggie asked with another laugh.

Hannah's smile was a bit more obvious as she replied, "It's just kind of what we've been calling it. You know, there was vegetation, and then we were all just really nice for a while. That part was okay. People being nice was okay."

"They're not usually?"

"It's high school," Hannah said as if that explained everything.

Maggie nodded, remembering that all too well. The tough, street smart cop with the easy smile, well, it looked like she must have owned the high school. She didn't. She was a scared little girl full of insecurities. The truth was that even those that seemed confident in high school were insecurity ridden. They were just better at faking it until they made it. Sometimes it was about having friends who were supportive. Sometimes it was about having a good support system at home. When you had neither, you either found a way through, found coping mechanisms, or you were part of that unfortunate percentage that didn't, and you became a statistic.

Not wanting to make things worse, Maggie said, "Well, you remember you have my number too now. If anyone is giving you a hard time, you can just give me a call. I can always come down there and take care of them, have a discussion with them I mean. If I need to, I'll call in the big guns and send my girlfriend to take care of them. Alex is a bad-ass FBI agent."

"Your girlfriend," Hannah said, a touch of excitement obvious in her voice. "So, she really is your girlfriend, Maggie?"

"Technically not anymore. She's my fiancée. We don't have the date set yet, but we're getting married. I scored me a hot, sexy, FBI agent," Maggie said with a laugh.

"Oh, um…and your parents are okay with that?"

Maggie's laughter only grew. "Oh, hell no, but they're not marrying her. Look, I could live the life my parents wanted me to and live unhappily ever after, or I could be really happy. Alex makes me really happy, and she says I make her happy. I remember high school. I remember being scared and confused. Life isn't like that anymore."

"It's not?" Hannah asked hesitantly.

Smiling gently, Maggie replied, "No sweetie, it's not. I got older, and I met my family, the one not related to me by blood. They love me for exactly who I am. They never ask me to change. I'm not worried they'll find out something secret about me and stop loving me. I want them to know more about me, and I want to know more about me. Our love is unconditional."

"That's your girlfriend."

"Alex, her sister, our friends, some of my work friends. Hannah, there's a whole world of people out there who aren't like the people in that little town of yours. Sweetie, if you think you're different, and that means something is wrong with you, don't worry. There's nothing wrong with you. As you grow older, you'll learn your differences are the most amazing things about you. You can buy the same off the rack thing cheap at Wal-Mart. Unique and diverse things, they don't come easy or cheap because uncommon is valuable. You're differences are some of the most valuable things about you. Don't underestimate them or you."

"That's, okay…thanks, and you like girls," Hannah pointed out.

"Yeah, I sure do. Girls are damn beautiful. I can't understand why everyone doesn't like girls, but hey, more for those of us who do."

Hannah was quiet for a little while and then she asked, "So, when did you first know you liked girls?"

"First?" Maggie took in a deep breath, falling back on the bed as she exhaled. "Well, I know the first girl I told I liked, but looking back on it, I can see I liked other girls before that. There were just other girls I wasn't ready to be open with, like older girls and girls on TV. I think I knew before I was ready to come out to myself if that makes sense."

"Yeah," Hannah half said, and half breathed.

Smiling, Maggie kept talking. "Coming out isn't something you do once. It's something you do again and again. You do it in little bits and pieces to yourself first. I know I denied it myself more than once. Then you finally come out to one person. You think once you've done that it's over, but you have to keep doing it. It gets easier every time, though. Eventually, you don't even think about it. You'll say something casual like, 'So, my girlfriend Alex and I were heading down to the beach this weekend…' and you see people look at you with that face where you can tell they don't quite know if you mean the word girlfriend as in friend or as in banging."

Across the line, Hannah laughed. "My mom would freak out if I said…banging." She whispered the last word.

"Good thing I'm not your mom," Maggie replied. "My point is, you keep coming out your whole life, but eventually it's easy. Eventually, we recognize each other, and we don't really have to come out."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked.

"I mean tribe. Tribe knows tribe most of the time. I can't even tell you what it is. Sure, some of it's the way we dress and sh…stuff like that, but it's just more of a sense. Have you heard the term gaydar?"

"Not really."

"It's a sense you get about whether or not someone is straight or if they're part of the tribe."

Breathing coming hitched across the phone line, Hannah, asked, "People can tell if you're gay?"

Understanding the teen's fear, Maggie quickly said, "Well, tribe can. You know, other gay people and others who are LGBTQ."

"Oh," Hannah said with a sigh. "I thought...oh."

"Sweetie, I can't tell you no one can never out someone who's in the closet, but there are ways to be careful until you're ready. Look, just tell me what you want to talk about. Really, I'm here to chat. I'm a pretty good listener, and for some reason, people think I'm pretty good at giving advice. You tell me what you need. If you want to hear more about my gay life, I'll talk about that, but it can be anything."

"Anything?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Just tell me how I can help. I'm never going to tell anyone from your town about it. Trust me. Unless I thought you were in danger, I wouldn't interfere."

"Well…okay. So, I was thinking…"

It was twenty minutes later when a curious Alex wandered into the bedroom. She found Maggie on the floor, back to the bed. One of Maggie's hands still held a cellphone and the other a letter. Alex smiled, stepping into the room.

"Hey, so this is where you got to. I was wondering…" Alex stiffened, falling to her knees when she saw the tears running down Maggie's cheeks. "Oh, my God! What happened!? What's wrong!?"

Shaking her head, Maggie fell forward onto Alex's shoulder, mumbling something incomprehensible as she sobbed.

Alex held her, sliding into a seated position and half pulling her fiancée into her lap. As Maggie curled up, tears still streaming down her face, Alex took the letter and began to read, the only clue available in her investigation. The facts began to unfurl in Alex's mind as to what Maggie had been doing in here, and at the same time, amid Maggie's strangled weeping, one repeated set of words became clear.

"We did it for her."


End file.
